UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


HISTORICAL    RELICS 

OF 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

INHERITED   AND    COLLECTED    BY 


ORIGINAL   LETTERS   AND    DOCUMENTS 

OF  GEORGE  MASON  AND  OTHERS  ON  THE 
FORMATION    OF  THE    CONSTITUTION 


THE    ANDERSON    GALLERIES 

NEW    YORK 


PORTRAIT  OF  MARY  BALL  WASHINGTON 

THE  MOTHER  OF  PRESIDENT  WASHINGTON 

PAINTED  BY  ROBERT  EDGE  PINE 

[  Number  72  ] 


HISTORICAL  RELICS  OF 

GEORGE     WASHINGTON 

INHERITED  AND   COLLECTED   BY 

MR.  WILLIAM  LANIER  WASHINGTON 
ORIGINAL    LETTERS    AND    DOCUMENTS 

BY  GEORGE  MASON  AND  OTHERS  ON  THE 

FORMATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION 


ORIGINAL  UNPUBLISHED  DIARY  OF  JAMES  McHENRY 
MEMBER  OF  THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION  AND 
A  MINIATURE  OF  WASHINGTON  PAINTED  BY  BIRCH 

TO  BE  SOLD 
THURSDAY  EVENING,  APRIL  19,  1917 

BEGINNING  AT   8:15   O'CLOCK 
On  Public  Exhibition  from  Thursday,  April  I2th 


THE  ANDERSON  GALLERIES 

MADISON  AVENUE  AT  FORTIETH  STREET 
NEW  YORK 


CONDITIONS  OF  SALE 

1.  All  bids  to  be  PER  LOT  as  numbered  in  the  Catalogue. 

2.  The  highest  bidder  to  be  the  buyer;    in  all  cases  of  disputed  bids  the  lot  shall  be  resold, 
but  the  Auctioneer  will  use  his  judgment  as  to  the  good  faith  of  all  claims  and  his  decision  shall 
be  final.      He  also  reserves  the  right  to  reject  any  fractional  or  nominal  bid  which  in  his  judgment 
may  delay  or  injuriously  affect  the  sale. 

3.  Buyers  to  give  their  names  and  addresses  and  to  make  such  cash  payments  on  account 
as  may  be  required,  in  default  of  which  the  lots  purchased  to  be  resold  immediately. 

4.  The  lots  to  be  taken  away  at  the  buyer's  expense  and  risk  within  twenty-four  hours  from 
the  conclusion  of  the  sale,  and  the  remainder  of  the  purchase  money  to  be  absolutely  paid  on  or 
before  delivery,  in  default  of  which  The  Anderson  Galleries,  Incorporated,  will  not  be  responsi- 
ble if  the  lot  or  lots  be  lost,  stolen,  damaged,  or  destroyed,  but  they  will  be  left  at  the  sole  risk 
of  the  purchaser,  and  subject  to  storage  charges. 

5.  To  prevent  inaccuracy  in  delivery,  and  inconvenience  in  the  settlement  of  purchases,  no 
lot  will  be  delivered  during  the  sale. 

6.  All  lots  will  be  exposed  for  public  exhibition  in  The  Anderson  Galleries  before  the  date 
of  sale,  for  examination  by  intending  purchasers,  and  The  Anderson  Galleries,   Incorporated, 
will  not  be  responsible  for  the  correctness  of  the  description,  authenticity,  genuineness,  or  for 
any  defect  or  fault  in  or  concerning  any  lot,  and  makes  no  warranty  whatever,  but  will  sell  each 
lot  exactly  as  it  is,  WITHOUT  RECOURSE.      But  upon  receiving  before  the  date  of  sale,  expert 
opinion  in  writing  that  any  lot  is  not  as  represented,  The  Anderson  Galleries,  Incorporated,  will 
use  every  effort  to  furnish  proof  to  the  contrary,  and  in  default  of  such  proof  the  lot  will  be  sold 
subject  to  the  declaration  of  the  aforesaid  expert,  he  being  liable  to  the  owner  or  owners  thereof 
for  damage  or  injury  occasioned  by  such  declaration. 

7.  TERMS  CASH.     Upon  failure  to  comply  with  the  above  conditions  any  sum  deposited  as 
part  payment  shall  be  forfeited,  and  all  such  lots  as  remain  uncleared  after  twenty-four  hours  from 
the  conclusion  of  the  sale,  will  be  resold  by  either  private  or  public  sale  at  such  time  as  The 
Anderson  Galleries,  Incorporated,  shall  determine,  without  further  notice,  and  if  any  deficiency 
arises  from  such  resale  it  shall  be  made  good  by  the  defaulter  at  this  sale  together  with  all  the 
expenses  incurred  thereby.    This  condition  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  the  right  of  The  Ander- 
son Galleries,  Incorporated,  to  enforce  the  contract  with  the  buyer,  without  such  re-sale. 

8.  BIDS.     We  make  no  charge  for  executing  orders  for  our  customers  and  use  all  bids  com- 
petitively, buying  at  the  lowest  price  permitted  by  other  bids. 

9.  The  Anderson  Galleries,  Incorporated,  will  afford  every  facility  for  the  employment  of 
carriers  and  packers  by  the  purchasers,  but  will  not  be  responsible  for  any  damage  arising  from 
the  acts  of  such  carriers  and  packers. 

Priced  Copy  of  this  Catalogue  may  be  secured  for  $1.00 

The  Anderson  Galleries 

INCORPORATED 

MADISON  AVENUE  AT  FORTIETH  STREET,  NEW  YORK 
TELEPHONE,  MURRAY  HILL,  7680 

SALES    CONDUCTED    BY   MR.    FREDERICK   A.    CHAPMAN 


E 


HISTORICAL  RELICS  OF 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

INHERITED  AND  COLLECTED  BY 
MR.  WILLIAM  LANIER  WASHINGTON 


203860 


INTRODUCTION 

MR.  WILLIAM  LANIER  WASHINGTON  of  New  York,  a  direct 
descendant  of  two  of  George  Washington's  brothers,  and  the  heredi- 
tary representative  of  General  Washington  in  the  Society  of  the 
Cincinnati,  has  inherited  through  five  family  sources  a  remarkable  collection 
of  the  relics  of  Washington,  which,  with  one  exception,  are  now  offered  at 
unrestricted  public  sale.  It  is  the  last  collection  in  the  possession  of  a  member 
of  the  Washington  family  that  is  likely  to  come  on  the  market.  Most  of  the 
other  inherited  relics  have  been  deposited  permanently  at  Mount  Vernon  and 
in  other  public  institutions. 

The  Relics  consist  of  articles  of  silver  and  tableware  owned  by  General 
Washington  and  used  at  Mount  Vernon,  snuff  boxes,  writing  case,  the  sword- 
belt  buckle  used  to  fasten  the  belt  from  which  one  of  Washington's  swords 
depended  during  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  shoe  buckles,  money  scales  and 
weights,  candlesticks,  whist  counters,  reading  glass,  two  silver  Camp  Cups 
and  a  silver  serving  spoon  used  by  Washington  during  the  Revolution,  Martha 
Washington's  teaspoon  and  money  purse,  the  wedding  ring  of  Washington's 
mother,  a  magnificent  portrait  of  Washington  by  Rembrandt  Peale,  the  only 
authentic  portrait  of  Washington's  mother,  and  other  relics  of  the  highest 
interest  and  importance. 

In  the  catalogue  the  Relics  are  divided  into  two  parts,  the  first  consisting 
of  those  inherited  by  Mr.  Washington  through  various  branches  of  the 
Washington  family  and  the  second  of  the  Washingtoniana  gathered  from 
other  sources  during  the  past  thirty-five  years  by  him  and  his  father,  the 
late  Major  James  Barroll  Washington.  Certificates  of  the  authenticity  of  the 
relics  will  be  furnished  to  buyers  on  request. 

Colonel  William  Augustine  Washington,  the  great-great-grandfather  of 
Mr.  William  Lanier  Washington,  was  the  only  son  of  Augustine  Washington, 
the  eldest  half-brother  of  General  George  Washington;  he  was  the  eldest  of 
Washington's  nephews  and  was  in  closer  association  with  him  than  any  other 
relative;  he  was  consulted  frequently  on  matters  of  business,  and  was  the 
first  executor  after  Martha  Washington  named  in  General  Washington's  will: 

EXTRACT 

"Lastly — I  constitute  and  appoint  my  dearly  deloved  wife,  Martha  Washington,  my  nephews, 
William  Augustine  Washington,  Bushrod  Washington,  George  Steptoe  Washington,  Samuel 
Washington  and  Lawrence  Lewis  and  my  ward,  George  Washington  Parke  Custis  (when  he  shall 
have  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty  years)  Executrix  and  Executors  of  this  Will  and  Testament." 

By  this  will  the  first  choice  of  the  five  swords  bequeathed  by  General  Wash- 
ington was  given  to  Colonel  William  Augustine  Washington,  and  during  Gen- 

5 


eral  Washington's  lifetime  he  received  from  his  uncle  personal  gifts,  among 
which  were  the  two  silver  Camp  Cups  used  by  General  Washington  through- 
out the  War  of  the  Revolution,  which  are  now  in  this  sale  (Number  32). 

Colonel  William  Augustine  Washington  married  his  half-cousin,  Jane 
Washington,  the  eldest  child  of  Colonel  John  Augustine  Washington,  a  younger 
full  brother  of  General  Washington.  She  was  the  sister  of  Bushrod  Washing- 
ton, a  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  who  inherited 
Mount  Vernon  and  General  Washington's  library  and  papers  under  General 
Washington's  will: 

EXTRACT 

"Item — To  my  nephew,  Bushrod  Washington,  I  give  and  bequeath  all  the  papers  in  my 
possession  which  relate  to  my  civil  and  military  administration  of  the  affairs  of  this  Country; 
I  leave  him  also  such  of  my  private  papers  as  are  worth  preserving,  and  at  the  decease  of  my 
wife,  and  before,  if  she  is  not  inclined  to  retain  them,  I  give  and  bequeath  my  library  of  books 
and  pamphlets  of  every  kind." 

Lawrence  Washington,  who  bequeathed  Mount  Vernon  to  his  half-brother, 
George  Washington,  did  so  with  the  suggestion  that  if  George  Washington 
died  without  issue  the  estate  should  revert  to  the  son  of  Lawrence  Washing- 
ton's full-brother,  Augustine  Washington,  namely,  Colonel  William  Augustine 
Washington;  but  it  is  believed  that  General  Washington  disregarded  the 
suggestion  and  bequeathed  Mount  Vernon  to  his  nephew,  Justice  Bushrod 
Washington,  because  he  was  in  less  fortunate  circumstances  than  Colonel 
William  Augustine  Washington,  who  was  a  man  of  affairs  and  the  owner  of 
four  handsome  estates. 

Colonel  George  Corbin  Washington  (the  great-grandfather  of  Mr.  William 
Lanier  Washington)  was  the  son  of  Colonel  William  Augustine  Washington 
and  his  wife,  the  above-mentioned  Jane  Washington.  He  inherited  from  his 
father  the  sword  of  General  Washington  and  many  other  relics  of  his  great 
uncle. 

He  also  inherited  from  his  uncle,  Justice  Bushrod  Washington,  who  died 
childless,  all  the  books  of  General  Washington's  library,  his  papers,  his  pistols, 
and  the  sword  which  his  uncle  had  received  through  General  Washington's 
will,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  paragraphs  in  Justice  Bushrod  Washington's 
will: 

"Thirteenth — All  the  papers  and  letter  books  devised  to  me  by  my  uncle,  General  Washing- 
ton, as  well  as  the  books  in  my  study,  other  than  law  books,  I  give  to  my  nephew,  George  C. 
Washington. 

"Fourteenth — The  sword  left  to  me  by  General  Washington  I  give  to  the  aforesaid  George  C. 
Washington,  under  the  same  injunctions  that  it  was  bestowed  to  me." 

Colonel  George  Corbin  Washington  had  only  one  son  who  lived  to  matur- 
ity, Colonel  Lewis  William  Washington  (the  grandfather  of  Mr.  William  Lanier 
Washington)  who  inherited  from  his  father  the  greater  portion  of  the  relics  of 


General  Washington  that  he  had  received  through  three  direct  family  sources, 
namely,  through  his  father,  Colonel  William  Augustine  Washington;  through 
his  mother,  Jane  Washington  (daughter  of  General  Washington's  full-brother), 
and  through  his  uncle,  Justice  Bushrod  Washington. 

When  Colonel  George  Corbin  Washington's  brother  Bushrod  Washington 
(a  nephew  of  Justice  Bushrod  Washington)  died  he  left  a  young  daughter, 
Frances  Washington,  whom  George  Corbin  Washington  took  into  his  family 
and  to  whom  he  subsequently  gave  several  relics  of  General  Washington.  The 
remainder  he  left  to  his  only  son,  Lewis  William  Washington,  as  appears  by 
these  extracts  from  his  will: 

"Item — I  give  to  my  son,  Lewis  W.  Washington,  all  my  papers  other  than  those  relating  to  my 
private  business.  .  .  .  I  also  give  to  my  son,  Lewis  W.  Washington,  the  sword  of  General  George 
Washington,  devised  to  me  by  my  father,  and  also  the  sword  and  pistol  (one  of  them  being  lost) 
of  the  said  General  George  Washington,  devised  to  me  by  my  uncle,  Judge  Bushrod  Washington. 

"Item— I  give  to  my  son,  Lewis,  my  law  books,  public  documents,  and  such  other  portion 
of  my  library  as  my  wife  may  not  wish  to  retain." 

Colonel  Lewis  William  Washington  married,  as  his  second  wife,  the  great- 
granddaughter  of  General  Washington's  only  sister,  Betty  Washington,  who 
had  inherited  several  important  relics  from  General  Washington's  sister  and 
from  General  Washington's  adopted  daughter,  Eleanor  Parke  Custis,  among 
which  was  the  Bible  of  General  Washington's -mother,  now  at  Mount  Vernon. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  that  in  the  possession  of  Colonel  Lewis 
William  Washington  were  concentrated  the  relics  of  General  Washington  from 
five  family  sources. 

Colonel  Lewis  William  Washington  had  one  son  by  his  first  marriage,  Major 
James  Barroll  Washington,  C.S.A.,  and  by  his  second  marriage  one  son,  Wil- 
liam de  Hertburn  Washington.  The  latter  died  without  issue. 

The  only  living  child  of  the  late  Major  James  Barroll  Washington  is  Mr. 
William  Lanier  Washington,  now  of  New  York  City,  who  inherited  several 
important  relics  from  his  half  uncle,  William  de  Hertburn  Washington,  and  the 
relics  which  belonged  to  his  father. 

Frances  Washington,  above  mentioned,  to  whom  George  Corbin  Washington 
gave  several  important  relics  of  General  Washington,  died  without  issue  and 
these  relics,  among  which  were  the  silver  Camp  Cups,  reverted  to  George  Cor- 
bin Washington's  grandson,  Major  James  Barroll  Washington  and  his  son,  Mr. 
William  Lanier  Washington. 

These  genealogical  summaries  are  given  to  explain  the  history  and  descent 
of  these  relics  from  General  Washington  to  their  present  owner,  Mr.  William 
Lanier  Washington,  who  being  childless  and  having  no  near  relatives  to  inherit, 
has  decided  to  disperse  the  Collections  that  they  may  be  cared  for  perma- 
nently by  public  institutions  or  cherished  by  patriotic  private  collectors. 


RELICS  OF  GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

CONSIGNED  FOR  UNRESTRICTED  PUBLIC  SALE  BY 

MR.  WILLIAM  LANIER  WASHINGTON 

Thursday  Evening,  April  19,  1917,  at  8:15  o'clock 

PART  I 

The  Relics  in  the  First  Part  of  Mr.  Washington's  Collection 
were  inherited  and  obtained  by  him  from  members  of 
his  family  on  the  lines  as  shown  in  the  Introduction 


COAT  BUTTON  WORN  BY  GENERAL  WASHINGTON 

Mounted  with  two  contemporary  patriotic  buttons  with  the  initials 
"G.  W."  in  centre.  Marked  with  inscription  "Long  Live  the  President." 
Two  different  varieties  of  these  rare  buttons  worn  while  Washington  was 
President  of  the  United  States.  3  pieces  in  frame. 


2    FRAGMENTS    OF    TWO    SILK    GOWNS    WORN    BY    MARTHA 
WASHINGTON 

Mounted  in  antique  mahogany  frame. 


FOUR  ENGRAVED  COPPER  BUTTONS  FROM  GENERAL  WASH- 
INGTON'S DRESS  COAT 
Worn  while  President  of  the  United  States. 
In  fine  black  morocco  case  with  inscription. 


4  SILVER  SERVING  SPOON  OWNED  BY  GENERAL  WASHINGTON 
Used  by  General  Washington  in  his  camp  equipment  during  the  War  of 
the  Revolution.  Richard  Humphreys,  Philadelphia,  maker,  circa  1777. 

In  fine  black  morocco  case  with  inscription. 


10 


5    GENERAL  WASHINGTON'S  WINE  GLASS 

Cut  glass,  Colonial  type.     One  of  a  set  for  serving  Madeira  at  Mount 
Vernon.     In  very  good  condition. 

In  fine  black  morocco  case  with  inscription. 


6    GENERAL  WASHINGTON'S  WINE  GLASSES 

Two  finely  cut  wine  glasses,  the  remaining  portion  of  one  of  the  finest  sets 
of  wine  glasses  used  by  General  Washington  at  Mount  Vernon  on  state 
occasions.  They  are  of  English  make  and  were  imported  by  General 
Washington  after  his  return  to  Mount  Vernon  to  retire  to  private  life. 
Both  glasses  are  well  preserved. 

In  fine  morocco  case  with  inscription. 


7    BROOCH  FROM  ONE  OF  GENERAL  WASHINGTON'S  SPOONS 

Wrought  in  the  shape  of  a  small  hatchet  from  a  broken  silver  spoon  and 
engraved  with  the  script  monogram  "G.  W."    Length,  if^  inches. 


ii 


MARTHA  WASHINGTON'S  TEASPOON 

A  silver  teaspoon  of  pure  Colonial  type.  Length,  5^4  inches.  Marked  in 
script  "M.  W.".  One  of  a  set  in  use  at  Mount  Vernon  during  the  life  of 
General  Washington,  which  is  said  to  have  been  presented  to  Martha 
Washington  by  a  French  visitor  at  Mount  Vernon.  It  has  had  consider- 
able wear,  as  the  maker's  mark  is  almost  obliterated,  but  the  spoon  is  in 
excellent  condition. 

In  fine  black  morocco  case  with  inscription. 


BRASS  CANNON  OWNED  BY  GENERAL  WASHINGTON 
This  cannon  is  six  and  one-half  inches  long.     It  is  characteristically  en- 
graved ^and    is    mentioned    in   the    "Inventory   of  General   Washington's 
Estate."    It  is  apparently  a  reduced  copy  of  an  historic  cannon,  and  no 
doubt  was  a  memento  of  the  sterling  work  of  its  prototype. 
In  fine  black  morocco  case  with  inscription. 

12 


io    MONEY    SCALES    OWNED    BY   GENERAL   WASHINGTON 

These  money  scales  are  listed  in  the  "Inventory  of  the  Estate."    The  one 
remaining  weight  is  marked  "  I  Souver-ain." 


ii     MONEY  WEIGHTS  OWNED  BY  GENERAL  WASHINGTON 

Two  sets  of  nested  weights  in  bronze  and  of  interesting  workmanship, 
used  by  General  Washington  at  Mount  Vernon  and  inventoried  by  the 
executors  of  his  estate. 

In  fine  black  morocco  case  with  inscription. 


•^fefo. 


12    TWO  SCROLL  EDGE  DISHES  FROM  MOUNT  VERNON 

Owned  by  Justice  Bushrod  Washington.  White  porcelain  with  decorations 
of  floral  sprays  in  brown  flecked  with  gold.  Marked  "Copeland  and  Gar- 
rett"  (the  original  name  of  the  Copeland  Porcelain  Factory  in  England). 
Length,  10  inches;  width,  7  inches;  depth,  1^2  inch.  Very  unusual  porce- 
lain in  perfect  condition. 


13    TWO  OCTAGONAL  DISHES 
Match  preceding.     8^4  inches  wide. 


In  perfect  condition. 


14    TWO  CAKE  DISHES 

Match  the  preceding.     Width, 
In  perfect  condition. 


inches  and  9  inches;    depth,  i>2  inch. 


TORTOISE-SHELL  SNUFF  BOX  OWNED  BY  WASHINGTON 
Inlaid  with  silver  and  gold  pique,  marked  "G.  W."    Inherited  by  the  pres- 
ent owner  from  his  father.    The  initials  on  the  top  appear  to  be  facsimiles 
of  Washington's   handwriting.     Length,   4^4    inches;    width,    i^   inches; 
depth,  i  inch. 

In  fine  black  morocco  case  with  inscription. 


16    BROOCH  MADE  FROM  GENERAL  WASHINGTON'S  SPOONS 

This  brooch  was  made  many  years  ago  with  the  script  monogram  "J.  B. 
W."  and  given  to  the  mother  of  the  present  owner  by  a  member  of  the 
family  who  had  these  broken  spoons  and  sought  to  utilize  them  as  a  sou- 
venir. Size,  3  by  2  inches. 


17    GEORGE  CORBIN  WASHINGTON 

Receipt  for  a  runaway  slave  returned  to  Colonel  Washington. 

Washington,  March  3Oth,  1853. 

Received  of  Mr.  Washington  Six  dollars  and  fifty  cents  in  full  for  apprehending  his 
slave  Hamilton.  James  Bowen. 


16 


1 8    GENERAL  WASHINGTON'S  STEEL  SHOE  BUCKLES 

Worn  informally  at  Mount  Vernon.  These  buckles  are  inventoried  among 
the  personal  effects  of  General  Washington  by  the  executors  of  his  estate. 
Size,  2f^  by  2^i  inches. 

In  fine  black  morocco  case  with  inscription. 


i9    SNUFF  BOX  OWNED  BY  GENERAL  WASHINGTON 

This  snuff  box,  which  is  made  of  tortoise  shell  inlaid  with  gold,  was  given 
by  General  Washington  to  his  nephew,  Justice  Bushrod  Washington,  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  It  was  given  by  Justice  Bushrod 
Washington  to  his  nephew,  Colonel  George  Corbin  Washington,  M.C.,  the 
great-grandfather  of  the  present  owner.  The  central  ornament  of  this  box 
has  been  lost  or  broken  and  has  been  replaced  with  a  portrait  of  General 
Washington  finely  etched  in  gold  on  black  glass. 

In  fine  black  morocco  case  with  inscription. 


18 


20  SIX  SILVER  TEASPOONS  OWNED  BY  GENERAL  WASHINGTON 
And  used  by  him  at  Mount  Vernon.  B.  Wenman,  New  York,  maker,  circa 
1795.  These  spoons  are  in  fine  condition  and  form  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting items  of  Washington's  table  silver  in  existence. 

In  fine  black  morocco  case  with  inscription. 


2i  SILVER  SUGAR  TONGS  OWNED  BY  GENERAL  WASHINGTON 
And  used  by  him  at  Mount  Vernon.  C.  A.  Burnett,  Alexandria,  Va.,  maker, 
circa  1797.  Burnett  made  many  pieces  of  silver  for  the  Washington  family. 

In  fine  black  morocco  case  with  inscription. 


20 


22    MINIATURE  TRUNK 

Given  by  General  Washington  to  his  adopted  daughter,  Eleanor  Parke 
Custis.  The  small  trunk  is  covered  with  the  hide  of  a  deer,  on  which  the 
hair  still  remains,  and  is  studded  with  brass-headed  nails.  It  was  used  by 
Nellie  Custis,  granddaughter  of  Martha  Washington  and  adopted  daughter 
of  General  Washington,  in  which  to  keep  her  small  belongings.  The  daugh- 
ter of  Eleanor  Parke  Custis  gave  this  trunk  to  her  first  cousin,  Betty  Bur- 
nett Lewis,  who  was  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Lewis  William  Washington,  step- 
grandmother  of  the  present  owner.  The  size  of  the  trunk  is  as  follows: 
Length,  13^2  inches;  width,  8  inches;  depth,  6  inches. 


23     SILK  BREECHES  OWNED  BY  GENERAL  WASHINGTON 

Worn  on  formal  occasions  while  President  of  the  United  States.  These 
breeches  are  made  of  light-brown  corded  silk  of  superior  quality.  They 
remain  in  excellent  condition  and  are  an  interesting  relic  of  Washington's 
personality. 

In  glass  case  with  inscription. 


21 


24    MARTHA  WASHINGTON'S  MONEY  PURSE 

Knitted  in  tan  silk  and  embellished  with  cut  steel  beads,  rings  and  tassels. 
In  perfect  condition. 

In  glass  case  with  inscription. 


22 


25    GENERAL  WASHINGTON'S  STEEL  SWORD  BELT  BUCKLE 

Worn  during  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  With  this  buckle  General  Wash- 
ington fastened  the  belt  around  his  waist  from  which  depended  his  sword 
throughout  the  seven  years  of  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  The  sword  is 
in  the  State  Department  at  Washington,  and  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
and  cherished  relics  of  General  Washington.  The  size  of  the  buckle  is  2^2 
by  1 34  inches. 

In  fine  black  morocco  case  with  inscription. 


26    GOLD  SEAL  WITH  WASHINGTON'S  COAT-OF-ARMS 

Cut  in  carnelian  and  mounted  in  gold.  Given  by  General  Washington  to 
his  brother,  Colonel  John  Augustine  Washington,  the  great-great-great- 
grandfather of  the  present  owner.  The  photographs  show  the  actual  size 
of  the  seal. 

In  fine  black  morocco  case  with  inscription. 


24 


27    CANDLESTICKS  OWNED  BY  GENERAL  WASHINGTON 

This  pair  of  candlesticks  were  used  by  General  Washington  on  his  desk  at 
Mount  Vernon.     They  are  fine  Sheffield  plate;    tapering  and  fluted  shafts 
and  bobeches,  moulded  and  beaded  circular  bases,  in  manner  of  Sheraton 
Height,  10  inches. 


28    READING  GLASS   OWNED   BY  GENERAL   WASHINGTON 

In  his  possession  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1799.  Mentioned  in  an  article 
by  Annette  Lewis  Bassett  (sister  of  the  step-grandmother  of  the  present 
owner  of  the  reading  glass)  in  Scribner's  Magazine  May,  1877,  as  follows: 

"Washington's  sun-glass,  in  a  massive  silver  rim,  with  solid  silver  handle  of  quaint 
device,  his  sword-belt  worn  through  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  a  number  of  letters 
not  yet  given  to  the  public  are  all  in  the  possession  of  one  lady."  [The  name  of  this 
lady  is  not  mentioned  but  she  refers  no  doubt  to  her  sister,  the  widow  of  Colonel 
Lewis  William  Washington,  grandfather  of  the  present  owner.] 

Length,  4>1$  inches;    diameter  of  the  glass,  2%  inches. 
In  fine  black  morocco  case  with  inscription. 


26 


29    WEDDING  RING  OF  GENERAL    WASHINGTON'S  MOTHER 

Small  well-worn  broken  band  of  gold,  the  ring  with  which  Augustine 
Washington,  father  of  George  Washington,  married  Mary  Ball.  One  of 
the  very  few  relics  of  the  mother  of  Washington  extant  and  probably  the 
most  valuable  of  any  known  to  be  in  existence.  It  is  stated  to  have  been 
taken  from  his  mother's  finger  by  General  Washington  at  the  time  of  her 
death  and  was  given  by  him  to  his  niece,  Jane  Washington,  mother  of 
George  Corbin  Washington,  who  in  turn  gave  it  to  his  niece,  Frances  Wash- 
ington. Frances  Washington  before  her  death  gave  it  to  James  Barroll 
Washington,  father  of  the  present  owner,  about  1895. 

In  black  morocco  case  with  inscription. 

27 


30    WHIST  COUNTERS  OWNED  BY  GENERAL  WASHINGTON 

Mother  of  pearl,  handsomely  engraved.  In  the  original  book  of  accounts 
kept  by  Lund  Washington,  overseer  of  Mount  Vernon,  from  1762  to  1784, 
appear  entries  on  page  42,  in  the  account  with  General  Washington's 
brother,  "Mr.  Charles  Washington,"  on  the  debit  side, "To  won  at  whist  at 
your  House,  7.6  shillings,"  on  the  credit  side,  "By  Cash  won  at  Mount 
Vernon,  5  shillings." 

In  mahogany  case  with  inscription  engraved  on  silver  tablet. 


28 


3i     WRITING  CASE  OWNED  BY  GENERAL  WASHINGTON 

The  writing  case  is  of  rosewood  with  mother-of-pearl  mountings.  Length, 
13^  inches;  width,  8^  inches;  height,  4^2  inches.  Attached  to  it  is  the 
statement  in  the  writing  of  the  grandfather  of  the  present  owner  to  the 
effect  that  it  was  given  by  General  Washington  to  his  nephew,  Bushrod 
Washington,  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and  its 
later  line  of  descent  as  follows: 

"This  case  was  presented  by  General  Washington  to  his  nephew,  Judge  Bushrod 
Washington,  and  by  him  to  his  nephew,  Colonel  George  Corbin  Washington,  and  by 
him  to  his  son,  Lewis  William  Washington,  in  1854." 

Also  attached  to  the  writing  case  is  a  statement  in  the  handwriting  of 
its  present  owner  as  follows: 

"This  writing  case  was  inherited  by  William  de  Hertburn  Washington,  the  young- 
est child  of  Lewis  William  Washington,  whose  statement  in  his  own  handwriting  is 
attached  to  the  case.  Upon  the  death  of  William  de  Hertburn  Washington  in  1914, 
it  was  inherited  by  his  nephew,  William  Lanier  Washington,  the  present  owner  of 
this  case. — William  Lanier  Washington,  1916." 


32  TWO  SILVER  CAMP  CUPS  OWNED  BY  GENERAL  WASHINGTON 
Used  by  General  Washington  during  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  Edmund 
Milne,  Philadelphia,  maker,  1777.  Size,  3j4  inches  high;  2^  inches 
wide  at  the  top;  2^  inches  wide  at  the  bottom. 

These  cups  were  given  by  General  Washington,  during  his  life,  to  his 
nephew,  Colonel  William  Augustine  Washington,  and  are  probably  one  of 
the  most  valuable  and  interesting  relics  of  General  Washington  in  exist- 
ence. A  reproduction  of  Milne's  original  bill  for  the  making  of  these  camp 
cups  is  shown  in  this  catalogue.  The  original  bill  is  not  offered  for  sale 
as  it  is  not  now  in  Mr.  Washington's  collection,  but  a  photographic  fac- 
simile of  the  exact  size  will  accompany  the  cups.  The  name  of  the  maker 
is  stamped  on  the  bottom  of  each  cup.  The  cups  show  considerable  use 
and  wear  and  are  somewhat  dented  and  marked  but  have  been  retained  in 
the  state  in  which  they  left  Washington's  hands. 

In  fine  black  morocco  case  with  inscription. 


GENERAL  WASHINGTON'S   SILVER   CAMP   CUPS 

ACTUAL   SIZE 

[Number  32] 


WASHINGTONIANA 

CONSIGNED  BY 

MR.  WILLIAM  LANIER  WASHINGTON 

PART  II 

The  following  Relics  of  General  Washington  were  collected 
during  the  past  thirty-five  years  by  the  late  Major  James 
Barroll  Washington  and  his  son,  Mr.  William  Lanier  Washington 

AUTOGRAPHS 

33     ADAMS    (JOHN    QUINCY).     L.S.,   i    p.  4to.     Washington,   Dec.   28, 
1822.     In  a  frame  and  glazed. 

To  Andrew  Gregg,  Secretary  of  State  for  Pennsylvania.  An  interesting 
letter  regarding  the  extradition  treaties  existing  between  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain,  and  their  application. 


34    JEFFERSON    (THOMAS).     A.L.S.,   i   p.  4to.     Monticello,  March   n, 
1795.     Framed  with  a  portrait. 

An  interesting  letter  to  Justice  Bushrod  Washington,  in  which  Jefferson 
asks  him  to  act  for  the  defendant  in  a  legal  case  in  which  he  is  interested. 
It  concludes:  "The  change  of  the  laws  during  my  absence,  &  my  ignorance 
of  them  is  my  true  apology  for  this  question." 


35    LAFAYETTE    (MARQUIS    DE).     A.L.S.,   \%  pp.  410.     La  Grange, 
December  10,  1828.     In  a  frame  with  a  portrait,  glazed. 

Evidently  written  to  Richard  Rush,  who  was  at  this  time  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  in  the  cabinet  of  President  Adams.  The  letter  mentions  a  forth- 
coming Treasury  report,  and  the  comparisons  he  has  made  between  Amer- 
ican and  European  budgets. 

33 


36     WASHINGTON   (GEORGE).    D.S.,  i  p.  large  410.    Philadelphia,  Decem- 
ber 22,  1796.     In  a  frame,  glazed. 

Appointment  of  Aquila  Giles  as  marshal.  The  document  is  written  on 
vellum  and  bears  the  signature  of  Timothy  Pickering  as  Secretary  of  State, 
and  the  Seal  of  the  United  States.  With  this  is  a  framed  steel  engraving 
of  General  Aquila  Giles.  (2  pieces.) 


BOOKS   FROM   WASHINGTON'S   LIBRARY 


37  BURN  (RICHARD).  The  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  Parish  Officer,  nth 
Edition.  Vols.  i,  3  and  4  (lacks  Vol.  2).  3  vols.,  8vo,  old  calf.  Lond. 
1770. 

George  Washington's  Copy,  but  without  either  his  autograph  or  bookplate.  The 
set  of  four  vols.  appears  on  the  inventory  of  his  personal  effects,  and  they  were  in- 
cluded in  the  sale  held  in  Philadelphia  in  1891.  Inserted  is  a  sworn  declaration  of 
Lawrence  Washington  that  these  volumes  belonged  to  General  Washington  and  were 
from  his  Library  at  Mount  Vernon. 


38  AMERICAN  MUSEUM;  or,  Universal  Magazine.  Issues  for  Sept., 
1789  (lacking  title);  Jan.,  1791;  Dec.,  1791;  Jan.  to  May,  and  Nov. 
and  Dec.,  1792.  Bound  in  one  vol.,  8vo,  half  sheep.  Phila.,  1789-92. 

The  issue  for  Jan.,  1791,  has  autograph  of  Bushrod  Washington  on  title.  Inserted 
is  a  statement  signed  by  Lawrence  Washington  that  these  numbers,  which 
his  father  had  bound,  formed  a  part  of  the  personal  library  of  George  Washington, 
at  Mount  Vernon,  and  giving  the  subsequent  history  of  the  volume,  which  latterly 
was  the  property  of  Bishop  Hurst. 

Lawrence  Washington  was  the  son  of  John  Augustine  Washington,  the  last  mem- 
ber of  the  Washington  family  who  owned  Mount  Vernon. 


39    MINIATURE  OF  GENERAL  WASHINGTON  ON  IVORY 

Painted  after  the  portrait  of  Washington  by  Joseph  Wright.     Signed  B.  L. 
In  a  heavy  antique  gilded  frame. 

34 


40    TWO  OFFICERS'  SWORDS 

Used  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  The  ivory  handle  of  one  is  mounted 
with  wrought  steel;  the  handle  of  the  other  is  of  ivory  with  bronze  mount- 
ing. Rare  specimens.  Length,  36  inches.  In  a  mahogany  case. 


41     FIGURE  OF  WASHINGTON 

Three-quarter  length  showing  Washington  in  uniform  holding  a  sword  in 
his  two  hands.     Composition  painted  in  life-like  glazed  colors.     Size, 
x  12^  inches.     In  antique  gilded  frame. 


42 


PORTRAIT  OF  GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

By  Chas.  Fenderich.  Bust  portrait  in  oils,  with  head  slightly  turned 
looking  to  the  right.  It  was  inherited  by  Mr.  William  Lanier  Wash- 
ington from  his  father  who  bought  it  many  years  ago  from  a  member  of 
the  Fenderich  family.  In  gilt  frame.  Size,  30  x  25  inches. 

With  this  is  a  lithograph  of  the  same  portrait  published  by  Charles 
Fenderich. 


35 


43    TWELVE  TABLE  KNIVES 

Ivory  handles  with  silver  mounts.  On  the  handles  of  the  knives  is  a  carved 
head  of  Washington  in  relief,  after  Houdon's  famous  model.  These  were 
part  of  the  set  said  to  have  been  made  in  Sheffield  and  presented  to  Gen- 
eral Washington  during  the  late  years  of  his  residence  at  Mount  Vernon. 
It  is  said  that  Washington  gave  them  to  the  wife  of  a  member  of  his  former 
military  staff,  from  a  descendant  of  whom  they  were  obtained  about  ten 
years  ago.  At  the  time  they  were  acquired  by  Mr.  Washington  they  were 
submitted  to  the  Curator  of  Metals  at  the  Metropolitan  Museum,  New 
York,  who  after  examination,  wrote  as  follows: 

Dear  Mr.  Washington: 

.  .  .  The  maker  of  your  knives,  J.  Garside,  was  well  known  in  Sheffield;    and 
from  the  history  of  the  cutler's  company  I  find  that  he  was  an  apprentice  in  1765. 

Yours  very  truly, 

[Signed]  John  H.  Buck,  Curator. 


Marked,  J.  Garside,  Superior  Cutlery.     Length   of  steel,  6>£  inches; 
length  of  handle,  3^  inches;   silver  mount,  ]4  inch. 


44    ELEVEN  TABLE  KNIVES 

Similar  to  preceding  but   smaller  in   size.     Length  of  steel,   4^   inches; 
length  of  handle,  3><  inches;    silver  mount,  y%  inch. 


45    CARVING  KNIFE,  FORK  AND  STEEL 

Match  the  preceding.     Length  of  knife  blade,  9><  inches;    ivory  handle, 
4^  inches;    silver  mount,  y2  inch.     Length  of  fork,  5  inches;    handle, 
inches;    silver  mount,  y2  inch.     Length  of  steel,  7><  inches;    handle, 
inches;    mount,  1A  inch. 


CUTLERY   FEOM    MOUNT  VERNON 

[Numbers  43,  44,  and  45] 


46    LARGE  SHEFFIELD  TRAY 

Entwined  leaf  scroll  edge  and  handles.  The  center  is  engraved  with  a  head 
of  Washington  surrounded  by  flags.  The  eagle  is  engraved  at  the  foot  of 
the  portrait  standing  on  a  shield  which  rests  on  a  sheaf  of  wheat  and 
corn  through  which  a  ribbon  runs  enumerating  the  names  of  the  grain- 
bearing  States.  Size,  26  x  18  inches.  In  a  glass  case. 


47    OVAL  STIPPLE  PROFILE  PORTRAIT  OF  GEORGE  WASHINGTON 
On  the  back  of  this  appears  the  following: 

The  God-like  Washington  died  I4th  Deer. ,1799.  All  America  in  tears.  The  within 
is  the  best  likeness  I  have  seen.  The  hair  is  of  his  own  head,  this  will  increase  its 
value  with  time.  It's  my  earnest  Request  this  may  be  preserved  to  succeeding  Gen- 
erations. The  hair  was  presented  to  me  by  Maj.  Billings.  Con.  Army.  Certificate: 

This  may  certify  that  the  within  hair  was  inclosed  by  Gen'l  Washington  in  a 
letter  to  me  dated  Newburgh,  June  '83  as  his  own  hair.  Jany.  i,  1810. 

And.  Billings. 

This  portrait  was  given  to  the  father  of  the  present  owner  by  his  aunt 
by  marriage,  who  was  the  granddaughter  of  Major  Andrew  Billings,  attache 
to  General  Washington  and  who  inherited  the  lock  of  Washington's  hair 
referred  to  above,  but  which  is  not  offered  with  this  portrait. 

38 


48    MOURNING  LOCKET 

Worn  at  the  time  of  Washington's  death.  Female  figure  in  mourning 
leaning  on  Washington's  tomb,  on  which  his  portrait  appears.  Painted 
on  ivory  and  mounted  in  gold.  Size,  i^  x  i^  inches. 


49    MOURNING  PIN 

Worn  at  the  time  of  Washington's  death.  Lozenge  shape,  mounted  in 
gold  with  blue  and  white  enamel  frame.  Painted  on  ivory  with  the  figure 
of  Washington  in  the  sky.  A  female  figure  is  leaning  on  the  tomb;  she 
bears  in  her  hand  a  staff  on  which  the  cap  of  Liberty  is  hung.  Size,  i^> 
x  1/i  inches. 


50    MOURNING  LOCKET 

Worn  in  commemoration  of  Washington's  death.  Seated  female  figure  is 
leaning  on  Washington's  tomb,  on  which  his  portrait  is  seen.  Painted  on 
ivory  and  mounted  in  gold.  Size,  2x1^/2  inches. 


5i     HEAD  OF  GENERAL  WASHINGTON  IN  SILVER 

Exquisitely  hand  wrought  in  solid  silver  in  low  relief,  after  the  drawing  by 
St.  Memin.  The  silver  wreath  surrounding  the  head  is  tied  at  the  bottom 
with  a  silver  bowknot  bearing  the  inscription,  "Washington,  Born  Feb. 
22,  1732;  died  Dec.  14,  1799."  Height  of  head,  8>£  inches;  width,  5 
inches.  The  wreath  is  comprised  of  about  seventy  laurel  leaves,  four  at  the 
bottom  tapering  to  one  at  the  top.  In  contemporaneous  deep  oval  gilded 
frame. 


52    WAX  HEAD  OF  GENERAL   WASHINGTON 

From  St.  Memin's  drawing.  This  model  is  that  from  which  the  silver 
head  (see  Lot  51)  was  made.  An  exquisite  example  of  wax  modelling; 
in  low  relief.  Height,  8^2  inches;  width,  5  inches. 


40 


HEAD   OF   WASHINGTON   IN   SOLID    SILVER 

[Number  51] 


53     BUST  OF  GENERAL  WASHINGTON 

Very  life-like  and  colored  to  nature.     Executed  in  high  relief  in  composi- 
tion.   Under  oval  glass  in  antique  frame.     Size,  9x7  inches. 


54  PITCHER  PORTRAIT  OF  WASHINGTON  ON  LIVERPOOL  WARE 
Mounted  under  glass  in  a  black  frame  with  brass  rim.  This  famous  "  Pitcher 
Portrait"  of  Washington  is  exceedingly  rare.  Size,  4x4^  inches. 


55    SMALL  BRONZE  STANDING  FIGURE  OF  WASHINGTON 

Very  rare  and  contemporaneous  bronze.     On  a  marble  base  of  two  colors. 
Height  of  figure,  8  inches;    height  of  base,  4^2  inches. 


42 


56    STAFFORDSHIRE    STANDING    FIGURE    OF    WASHINGTON 
One  of  the  rare  original  figures  of  Washington  made  in  Staffordshire  during 
his  life  time.    The  decoration  which  is  of  gold  and  white  is  unusual.    The 
lower  part  of  this  figure  has  been  damaged  and  restored  so  cleverly  that  it 
is  hardly  discernible.     Height,  14^  inches. 


57     PORCELAIN  BUST  OF  WASHINGTON 

Excessively  rare,  in  bisque  on  a  white  porcelain  base,  decorated  with  gold 
and  with  the  inscription  "Washington."  Height  of  bust,  23^  inches;  height 
of  base,  2^  inches.  The  owner  of  this  piece  has  seen  no  duplicate  and 
considers  it  one  of  the  rarest  pieces  in  his  collection. 


43 


58  BUST  OF  GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

Rare  Staffordshire;  showing  the  subject  with  black  coat  and  flowered 
waistcoat.  This  bust  of  George  Washington  in  its  original  state  is  exces- 
sively rare  and  the  owner  knows  of  but  one  other  similar,  which,  he  is 
informed,  is  in  the  British  Museum.  This  bust  has  been  reproduced  several 
times  during  the  last  fifty  years  and  these  reproductions  should  not  be 
confused  with  the  original.  Height,  8^2  inches. 

59  CONTEMPORANEOUS  LIVERPOOL  WARE  BOWL 

In  the  center  of  the  bowl  is  an  oval  portrait  of  Washington  supported  on 
either  side  by  two  draped  figures.  The  one  on  the  right  is  represented  as 
saying,  "Deafness  to  the  ear  that  will  patiently  hear  and  Dumbness  to  the 
Tongue  that  will  utter  a  Calumny  against  the  immortal  Washington," 
and  the  one  on  the  left,  "My  Favorite  Son."  Underneath,  "Long  Live 
the  President  of  the  United  States."  On  the  outside  are  two  rustic  scenes, 
which  appear  to  reproduce  Wakefield,  the  birthplace  of  General  Washing- 
ton. Diameter,  6  inches;  depth,  2^  inches. 

A  very  interesting  and  excessively  rare  bowl,  no  other  being  known. 


44 


60    LEAD  STATUETTE  OF  WASHINGTON 

In  military  costume  standing  by  a  cannon;    on  small  base.     A  very  rare 
contemporary  specimen.     Height,  9^  inches. 


61     LEAD  STATUETTE  OF  FRANKLIN 
Standing  figure,  companion  to  the  above. 

45 


62    PORTRAIT  OF  WASHINGTON 

A  copy  in  oils,  presumably  from  the  brush  of  Jane  Stuart,  daughter  of 
Gilbert  Stuart,  of  Stuart's  Lansdowne  portrait.  Inherited  by  Mr.  William 
Lanier  Washington  from  his  father.  Size,  36  x  25  inches.  In  a  contem- 
porary frame. 


63    THREE  ENGRAVED  PORTRAITS 

George  Washington,  engraved   by  Rollinson,    published  by  I.   Reid,  New 
York,  1796,  and  two  others.     In  one  frame. 


64    GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

Stipple  engraving  printed  in  colors  by  W.  Nutter  after  Stuart.     London, 
published  Jany.  15,  1798,  by  R.  Cribb  Holborn.     Framed.     Very  rare. 


65    GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

Medallion  portrait  engraved  by  B.  L.  Prevost  after  Du  Similier,  and  one 
other.     In  one  frame. 


66    EARLY  DAGUERREOTYPE  OF  WASHINGTON 

Made  by  S.  F.  B.  Morse,  Boston,  in  May,  1846,  of  the  Gilbert  Stuart 
Athenasum  Portrait  of  Washington.  It  is  well  known  that  Morse  did  much 
experimental  work  in  photography  and  among  his  earliest  attempts  was 
that  of  a  reproduction  of  Stuart's  portrait  of  Washington.  It  is  said  that 
in  order  to  obtain  this  daguerreotype  photograph  an  exposure  of  several 
hours  was  required  and  success  was  obtained  only  after  many  failures. 
(See  Life  of  Morse.)  The  daguerreotype  plate  is  5  x  \%  inches,  with  a 
gilt  metal  mat  showing  an  oval  of  3^4  x  3  inches. 


46 


6;    BRONZE  STATUETTE  OF  WASHINGTON 

Finely  modelled  standing  figure.     On  fluted  half  column  of  white  marble, 
ormolu  mounted.     Height  of  figure,  9^  inches;    height  of  base,  5  inches. 


68     BRONZE  STATUETTE  OF  FRANKLIN 
Standing  figure.     Companion  to  the  preceding. 


47 


69    RARE  CONTEMPORARY  CHINTZ  PANEL 

A  center  medallion  holds  the  portrait  of  Washington  and  is  surmounted  by 
the  Coat-of-Arms  of  the  United  States,  dated  1776,  and  an  inscription, 
"Liberty  and  Independence  our  Country's  Pride  and  Boast."  On  the 
right  and  left  are  medallion  portraits  of  Jefferson  and  Madison.  Below, 
on  each  side,  are  four  scenes  of  naval  engagements  in  medallions  entwined 
with  ribbons  and  wreaths,  which  are  inscribed  with  the  sayings  of  the 
respective  commanders,  whose  flags  are  flying. 

In  the  center  are  three  large  ovals  depicting  the  battle  of  Lake  Erie 
with  Perry's  message:  "We  have  met  the  enemy  and  they  are  ours";  the 
battle  of  Lake  Champlain,  and  "The  Glorious  finishing,  New  Orleans," 
with  the  inscription,  "Without  the  advantages  of  discipline  we  have  con- 
quer'd  conquerors. — Jackson."  On  either  side  of  this  medallion  is  a  flag, 
one  bearing  the  inscription,  "The  Peasantry  of  America  who  know  their 
Rights  and  their  Duties."  The  other,  "The  Right  Hand  of  Fellowship  to 
all  Nations  who  deserve  it."  At  the  foot  of  the  piece  on  the  left  is  the 
figure  of  a  woman  holding  a  scroll  which  reads,  "Hail  Columbia  happy 
Land.  Be  then  forever  great  and  free,  the  land  of  love  and  Liberty."  On 
the  right  is  the  figure  of  a  man  holding  a  flag  inscribed,  "Millions  for 
Defence,  not  a  cent  for  Tribute.  Columbia  fears  no  haughty  Foe,  who 
ploughs  the  stormy  main.  Her  Home's  a  mighty  Continent,  her  Wealth,  her 
wide  Domain."  At  the  base  an  inscription,  "Free  trade  and  Sailors' 
Rights.  Rodgers.  Porter." 

Printed  in  mulberry  on  deep  ivory  ground.  In  fine  proof  condition. 
Size,  32  x  24  inches.  In  gold  frame  with  black  glass  mat. 


48 


VERY   RARE   CHINTZ   PANEL 

[Number  69] 


70    BRONZE  BUST  OF  GENERAL  WASHINGTON 

Life  size.  This  is  the  first  casting  ever  made  directly  from  the  original 
plaster  model,  which  was  made  from  life  by  the  famous  French  sculptor, 
Jean  Antoine  Houdon,  in  1785.  The  plaster  model,  which  was  left  by  Hou- 
don  at  Mount  Vernon,  is  valued  at  $50,000  and  is  one  of  the  two  busts  made 
in  plaster  by  Houdon  who  came  to  America  for  the  purpose  of  making  the 
statue  of  Washington  (now  in  the  rotunda  of  the  State  House  at  Rich- 
mond, Virginia).  Houdon  is  the  only  sculptor  that  Washington  per- 
mitted to  make  life  casts  from  his  face,  head,  and  body.  The  other  plaster 
bust  was  carried  to  France  by  Houdon  where  it  is  now  preserved  by  the 
French  Government.  This  bronze  was  cast  in  New  York  City  by  the  late 
Maurice  Power  in  his  own  foundry  and  was  retained  for  years  in  his 
family.  It  was  bought  from  Maurice  Power's  widow. 


BRONZE   BUST  AFTER   HOUDON 

[Number  70] 


7i     PORTRAIT  OF  GENERAL  GEORGE  WASHINGTON 

Painted  by  Rembrandt  Peale,  who  was  born  in  Bucks  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, February  22,  1778,  and  died  in  Philadelphia,  October  3,  1860. 
Slightly  more  than  life  size,  bust  length,  facing  about  three-quarters  to  the 
right.  A  fresh-complexioned  and  vigorous,  fearless  face  with  benignant 
eyes — a  most  human  portrayal.  Dressed  in  blue  Continental  military 
coat  with  gold  epaulets,  buff-colored  reveres,  white  stock  and  ruffle.  Height, 
30  inches;  width,  25  inches. 

IN  BEAUTIFUL  FRESH  CONDITION  AND  SO  FAR  AS  KNOWN  IT  HAS  NEVER 
BEEN  REPRODUCED. 

It  is  well  known  that  Peale  painted  his  first  portrait  of  Washington 
when  he  was  only  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  at  that  time  obtained  three 
sittings  from  his  great  patron. 

Mr.  Charles  Henry  Hart  has  examined  this  portrait  and  has  submitted 
the  following  report  to  Mr.  Washington: 

"I  have  examined  the  portrait  of  Washington,  three  quarters  to  right,  in  uni- 
form, on  canvas  25  x  30  inches,  that  you  submitted  for  my  opinion.  It  is  painted 
by  Rembrandt  Peale  and  doubtless  is  one  of  his  trial  pictures,  painted  while  he  was 
arriving  at  his  composite  portrait  of  1823-24.  It  shows  the  right  side  of  the  face 
while  the  composite  portrait  shows  the  left  side  of  the  face  which  is  the  familiar 
"Rembrandt  Peale's  Washington."  It  is,  as  are  all  of  the  1823-24  type,  of  heroic 
size,  that  is,  larger  than  life  and  is  to  me  a  new  type,  for  which  reason  it  is  of  especial 
interest.  It  is  painted  in  Rembrandt  Peale's  usual  manner  and  with  his  high-color 
palette. 

[Signed]  CHAS.  HENRY  HART." 

Other  experts  who  have  examined  this  portrait  have,  without  excep- 
tion, declared  it  to  be  an  unusually  excellent  example  of  the  work  of  Rem- 
brandt Peale.  Mr.  Hart's  report  accompanies  the  portrait. 


PORTRAIT  OF   GENERAL  WASHINGTON 

PAINTED   BY   REMBRANDT   PEALE 

[Number  71] 


72    PORTRAIT  OF  THE  MOTHER  OF  WASHINGTON 

Portrait  of  Mary  Ball  Washington,  painted  by  Robert  Edge  Pine.     In  its 
original  condition.     Height,  2i>^  inches;   width,  18  inches. 

BY  SPECIAL  ARRANGEMENT  A  RESERVE  PRICE  OF  TEN  THOUSAND  DoL- 
LARS  HAS  BEEN  PLACED  ON  THIS  PORTRAIT.  IF  AN  INITIAL  BID  OF  THAT 
AMOUNT  IS  NOT  RECEIVED  THE  PAINTING  WILL  BE  WITHDRAWN.  EVERY 
OTHER  ITEM  IN  MR.  WASHINGTON'S  COLLECTION  WILL  BE  SOLD  WITHOUT 
RESERVE  OR  RESTRICTION. 

This  celebrated  portrait  has  been  on  public  exhibition  at  the  Jumel 
Mansion,  General  Washington's  Headquarters,  in  New  York  City,  and  in 
February  and  March  of  this  year  was  in  the  Loan  Exhibition  of  early 
American  portraits  at  the  Brooklyn  Museum.  It  is  familiar  to  the  public 
and  is  the  ONLY  KNOWN  AUTHENTIC  PORTRAIT  of  Washington's  mother. 

Mr.  Charles  Henry  Hart,  the  recognized  authority  on  portraits  of  the 
Washington  family,  made  an  exhaustive  study  of  this  portrait  and  sub- 
mitted to  Mr.  William  Lanier  Washington  a  long  and  elaborate  report. 
He  said: 

"The  authorship  of  the  painting  is  perfectly  clear  to  me.  It  is,  without  the  least 
doubt,  the  work  of  Robert  Edge  Pine,  a  British  painter  who,  born  in  Great  Britain 
in  1730,  came  to  this  country  in  1784  and  died  at  Philadelphia,  November  19,  1788. 
Pine  visited  Mount  Vernon  and  Washington  notes  in  his  Diary  on  April  28,  1785, 
Pine's  arrival  'in  order  to  take  my  picture  from  life.'  He  remained  at  Mount  Vernon 
three  weeks  and  when  he  left  carried  letters  of  high  commendation  from  Washington. 
In  addition  to  the  portraits  of  Washington  and  Fanny  Bassett,  Pine  painted  at  Mount 
Vernon  portraits  of  Mrs.  Washington's  three  grandchildren." 

Mr.  Hart  added  that  the  portrait  was  not  only  painted  from  life  but 
was  "an  absolutely  homogeneous  painting,  that  is,  all  painted  at  the  same 
period  or  virtually  at  the  same  time."  He  also  said  that  it  was  an  extremely 
good  example  of  Pine's  work  at  his  best,  being  firmly  and  decisively  painted, 
"and  no  one  can  help  but  see  instinctively  its  general  resemblance  to  the 
well-known  lineaments  and  distinguishing  characteristics  of  the  portraits 
of  the  Father  of  his  Country."  After  a  further  review  of  the  evidence  Mr. 
Hart  closed  his  report  as  follows: 

"I  am  pleased  to  be  able  to  say  that  from  my  investigations  and  researches  into 
the  history  of  this  portrait  and  from  my  considerable  familiarity  with  portraiture  in 
general  and  with  the  portraits  of  Washington  in  particular,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that 
this  is  a  portrait  of  your  ancestress  in  the  sixth  generation,  Mary  Ball,  the  Mother 
of  Washington." 

Mr.  Hart's  opinion  has  been  endorsed  by  many  distinguished  authori- 
ties. Lyon  G.  Tyler,  LL.D.,  president  of  William  and  Mary  College,  wrote 
to  Mr.  William  Lanier  Washington:  "The  statement  of  Mr.  Charles 

54 


Henry  Hart  is  conclusive  in  my  opinion  of  the  authenticity  of  the  Mary 
Ball  portrait.     No  higher  authority  could  be  had." 

Mr.  Worthington  Chauncey  Ford,  formerly  chief  of  the  Division  of 
Manuscripts  in  the  Library  of  Congress,  author  of  a  Life  of  Washington, 
the  editor  of  the  Writings  of  Washington,  and  now  the  editor  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Historical  Society  and  the  President  of  the  American  Historical 
Association,  wrote  to  Mr.  Washington  with  regard  to  Mr.  Hart's  report: 
"I  do  not  think  you  could  get  a  more  judicious,  with  a  nearer  approach 
to  certainty.  You  now  have  a  document  which  will  serve  to  answer  any 
critic  who  questions  the  probability  of  the  portrait.  In  all  this  matter  of 
portraiture  you  cannot  do  better  than  to  follow  Charles  Henry  Hart." 

General  Roger  A.  Pryor,  late  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  State  of 
New  York,  wrote:  "After  a  critical  examination  of  the  evidence  I  am  sat- 
isfied beyond  a  doubt  that  your  picture  is  an  authentic  portrait  of  Wash- 
ington's mother." 

Mr.  Frank  W.  Bailey,  of  the  Copley  Galleries,  Boston,  an  authority  on 
early  American  portraits,  wrote  a  detailed  review  of  the  recent  Loan  Exhi- 
bition in  Brooklyn  which  was  published  in  the  Boston  Evening  Transcript  of 
February  10,  1917,  in  which  he  said:  "Robert  Edge  Pine  has  four  portraits 
credited  to  him,  only  one  of  which,  that  of  Mary  Ball  Washington,  shows 
him  to  be  a  painter  of  excellence.  This  portrait  is  undoubtedly  a  genuine 
one,  is  so  fine  in  technique  and  color  that  it  is  difficult  to  realize  it  as  com- 
ing from  his  hand." 

The  authenticity  of  the  portrait  has  also  been  approved  by  Mr.  Ed- 
ward Hagaman  Hall,  historian  and  author,  of  New  York  City;  W.  Gor- 
don McCabe,  A.M.,  LL.D.,  president  of  the  Virginia  Historical  Society; 
Mr.  William  Henry  Shelton,  curator  of  Washington  Headquarters,  New 
York  City;  Clarence  Winthrop  Bowen,  LL.D.,  president  of  the  New 
York  Genealogical  and  Biographical  Society;  Mr.  Jonce  Irwin  McGurk, 
authority  on  early  American  portraiture;  Mr.  Frank  Allaben,  editor-in- 
chief  of  the  "Journal  of  American  History,"  and  by  all  other  authorities 
to  whom  it  has  been  submitted. 

The  report  of  Mr.  Hart,  autograph  letters  from  the  authorities  named 
above,  and  newspaper  articles  regarding  the  history  of  the  portrait,  have 
been  handsomely  bound  in  full  morocco  in  a  quarto  volume  which  will 
be  delivered  to  the  purchaser  of  the  portrait. 

[The  Portrait  reproduced  in  colors  is  the  frontispiece  of  this  Catalogue.] 


55 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS  AND   DOCUMENTS 

OF  GEORGE  MASON  AND  OTHERS  ON  THE 

FORMATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION 


HISTORICAL  NOTE 

IN  September,  1786,  a  meeting  was  held  at  Annapolis  by  Commissioners 
from  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  and  Virginia  to 
"remedy  defects  of  the  Federal  Government."  Commissioners  had  been 
appointed  from  other  States  but  only  those  from  the  States  named  attended 
and  the  net  result  of  the  meeting  was  a  recommendation  to  the  States  repre- 
sented to  procure  the  appointment  by  all  the  States  of  Commissioners  to  meet 
in  Philadelphia  in  May,  1787,  "to  devise  such  provisions  as  shall  appear  to 
them  necessary  to  render  the  Constitution  of  the  Federal  Government  ade- 
quate to  the  exigencies  of  the  Union." 

That  suggestion  resulted  in  the  Federal  Convention  at  Philadelphia.  The 
date  fixed  for  the  meeting  was  May  2,  1787,  but  it  was  May  25  before  a  sufficient 
number  of  States  were  represented  to  constitute  a  quorum,  and  on  the  29th, 
Governor  Edmund  Randolph  of  Virginia  presented  fifteen  resolutions  and 
Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney  of  South  Carolina  a  draft  of  a  Federal  govern- 
ment, both  of  which  were  referred  to  the  Committee  of  the  Whole.  These 
were  debated  until  the  I3th  of  June,  when  the  committee  presented  to  the 
Convention  nineteen  resolutions  founded  on  those  which  were  proposed  by 
Mr.  Randolph.  Later  William  Paterson  of  New  Jersey  submitted  some  resolu- 
tions that  were  referred  to  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  but  on  the  iQth  of 
June  that  committee  disagreed  with  the  proposals  of  Mr.  Paterson  and  again 
reported  the  nineteen  resolutions  previously  agreed  to. 

From  that  time  until  the  23d  of  July  the  Convention  debated  these  nine- 
teen resolutions  and  on  the  24th  of  July  appointed  a  "Committee  of  Detail" 
under  a  resolution  "That  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  National  Government,  except  what  respects  the  Supreme  Executive, 
be  referred  to  a  committee  for  the  purpose  of  reporting  a  Constitution  conform- 
ably to  the  proceedings  aforesaid." 

The  Convention  then  adjourned  until  August  6th  to  await  the  action  of 
the  committee.  This  committee  consisted  of  John  Rutledge,  Edmund  Ran- 
dolph, Nathaniel  Gorham,  Oliver  Ellsworth,  and  James  Wilson,  who  were  chosen 
by  ballot.  On  August  6th  the  Committee  of  Detail  reported  a  draft  of  a  Con- 
stitution which  was  debated  until  the  8th  of  September,  when  another  com- 
mittee of  five  was  appointed  to  "revise  the  style  of  and  arrange  the  articles 
agreed  to  by  the  house."  This  was  known  as  the  Committee  on  Style  and 
Arrangement.  The  members  were  William  S.  Johnson,  Alexander  Hamilton, 
Gouverneur  Morris,  James  Madison,  and  Rufus  King,  and  on  September  I2th 
it  reported  the  draft  of  the  Constitution  as  well  as  a  draft  of  a  letter  submitting 
it  to  Congress,  and  it  was  ordered  that  printed  copies  be  furnished  to  members 
and  they  were  delivered  the  next  day.  Finally  on  Saturday,  September  I5th, 
the  Constitution  as  amended  was  "passed  in  the  affirmative — all  the  States 
concurring." 

59 


The  Convention  met  again  on  Monday,  September  lyth,  and  agreed  to  one 
more  change,  and  then  after  passing  resolutions  placing  its  Journals  in  charge 
of  the  President  subject  to  the  order  of  Congress  if  ever  formed  under  the  Con- 
stitution adjourned  sine  die. 

The  Congress  of  the  Confederation  was  in  session  in  New  York  when  the 
Federal  Convention  adjourned  and  on  September  28th  it  unanimously  resolved 
to  refer  the  proposed  Constitution  with  the  "resolutions  and  letter  accom- 
panying the  same"  to  the  State  legislatures  "in  order  to  be  submitted  to  a 
convention  of  delegates  duly  chosen  in  each  State  by  the  people  thereof." 

The  last  article  of  the  Constitution  provided  that  "The  ratification  of  the 
conventions  of  nine  States  shall  be  sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  this  Con- 
stitution between  the  States  so  ratifying  the  same."  The  dates  of  these  rati- 
fications by  the  States  are  as  follows: 

STATE  DATE  VOTE 

Delaware December  7,  1787 Unanimously 

Pennsylvania December  12,  1787 46  to  23 

New  Jersey December  18,  1787 Unanimously 

Georgia January  2,  1788 Unanimously 

Connecticut January  9,  1788 128  to  40 

Massachusetts February  6,  1788 187  to  168 

Maryland April  28,  1788 63  to  12 

South  Carolina May  23,  1788 149  to  73 

New  Hampshire June  21,  1788 57  to  46 

Virginia June  25,  1788 89  to  79 

New  York July  26,  1788 30  to  28 

North  Carolina November  21,  1789 193  to  75 

Rhode  Island May  29,  1790 34  to  32 

It  will  be  seen  that  only  three  State  Conventions  voted  unanimously  for 
the  adoption  of  the  proposed  Constitution.  Many  of  the  most  patriotic  men 
in  America  believed  it  to  be  faulty  in  several  particulars  and  held  that  until  it 
was  amended  it  should  not  be  adopted.  And  in  consequence  the  struggle 
brought  out  pamphlets  and  newspaper  articles  by  the  score.  Among  those 
opposed  were  such  men  as  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Elbridge  Gerry,  Luther  Martin, 
George  Clinton,  James  Wadsworth,  Patrick  Henry,  and  George  Mason.  In 
fact,  Washington  was  the  only  member  of  the  Virginia  delegation  to  the  Federal 
Convention  who  signed  the  new  Constitution.  Edmund  Randolph,  the  Gover- 
nor of  the  State,  was  led  to  vote  for  its  adoption  only  because  eight  States  had 
already  adopted  it,  and,  as  he  explained,  the  main  question  was  "Union  or  no 
Union."  His  speech  on  recording  his  vote  for  ratification  contained  the  expres- 
sion, "But  although  for  every  other  act  of  my  life  I  shall  seek  refuge  in  the 
mercy  of  God,  for  this  I  request  His  justice  only." 

The  principal  objections  to  the  Constitution  were  finally  overcome  by  the 
first  ten  amendments  which  were  declared  in  force  December  15,  1791. 

60 


THE  MASON  PAPERS 

ORIGINAL  DOCUMENTS,  AUTOGRAPH  LETTERS,  AND  PRINTED  DRAFTS  OF  THE 
CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  1787,  PRESERVED  BY  GEORGE  MASON 
OF  VIRGINIA,  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  CONVENTION,  IN  THE  HANDWRITING  OF  GEORGE 
MASON,  EDMUND  RANDOLPH,  RICHARD  HENRY  LEE,  AND  EDWARD  RUTLEDGE. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  these  very  valuable  and  important  papers  regarding 
the  formation  of  the  Constitution: 

AUTOGRAPH  DOCUMENT,  2  pp.     Draft  of  a  speech  by  George  Mason. 

AUTOGRAPH  DOCUMENT,  3^  pp.     Draft  of  a  Speech  by  George  Mason. 

AUTOGRAPH  DOCUMENT,  2  pp.    Proposed  Amendments  to  the  Constitution  by  George  Mason. 

AUTOGRAPH  DOCUMENT,  \^4  pp.     Article  III,  with  corrections  by  George  Mason. 

AUTOGRAPH  DOCUMENT,  9  pp.     Edmund  Randolph's  Draft  of  a  Constitution. 

FIRST  SECRETLY  PRINTED  DRAFT  OF  A  CONSTITUTION. 

SECOND  SECRETLY  PRINTED  DRAFT  OF  A  CONSTITUTION. 

AUTOGRAPH  DOCUMENT,  i^  pp.    Amendments  to  the  Constitution  by  Richard  Henry  Lee. 

AUTOGRAPH  DOCUMENT,  5  pp.     Amendments  to  the  Constitution  by  George  Mason. 

AUTOGRAPH  DOCUMENT,  2  pp.     Regarding  the  Virginia  Convention  by  George  Mason. 

AUTOGRAPH  LETTER  SIGNED  by  Richard  Henry  Lee,  4  pp.     Regarding  the  powers  granted 

to  the  Executive  and  Congress. 
AUTOGRAPH  LETTER  SIGNED  by  Richard  Henry  Lee,  4  pp.     Regarding  peculations  among 

public  officers. 
AUTOGRAPH   LETTER  SIGNED   by  George  Mason,   5^  pp.     Regarding  Virginia's  Western 

Lands. 
BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  of  George  Mason  by  Judge  Bland. 

George  Mason  (1725-1792)  was  one  of  the  greatest  statesmen  of  Virginia. 
James  Madison  said  he  was  the  ablest  debater  he  had  ever  known  and  Thomas 
Jefferson  described  him  as  "a  man  of  the  first  order  of  wisdom,  of  expansive 
mind,  profound  judgment,  cogent  in  argument,  learned  in  the  lore  of  our  former 
constitution,  and  earnest  for  the  republican  change  on  democratic  principles." 
In  1769  Mason  drew  up  the  non-importation  resolutions  which  were  presented 
by  Washington  in  the  Virginia  Assembly  and  unanimously  adopted.  In  1774 
he  proposed  twenty-four  resolutions  reviewing  the  controversy  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  Colonies,  recommending  a  Congress,  and  urging  non-intercourse 
with  the  mother-country.  In  1776  he  drafted  the  Declaration  of  Rights  and  the 
Constitution  of  Virginia  which  were  unanimously  adopted.  He  repeatedly  de- 
clined the  highest  public  offices,  but  did  consent  to  serve  in  the  Convention  to 
frame  a  Constitution  for  the  United  States.  He  took  an  active  part  in  its  de- 
bates and  was  distinguished  for  his  liberal  principles.  In  the  discussion  whether 
the  House  of  Representatives  should  be  chosen  directly  by  the  people,  he  main- 
tained that  no  republican  government  could  stand  without  popular  confidence, 
and  that  confidence  could  only  be  secured  by  giving  the  people  the  selection  of 

61 


one  branch  of  the  legislature.  He  also  favored  the  election  of  the  President  by 
the  people  and  for  a  term  of  seven  years  with  ineligibihty  afterward.  In  some 
attempts  to  render  the  Constitution  more  democratic  Mason  was  defeated  in 
the  Convention,  as  these  Letters  and  Documents  show,  and  when  the  instru- 
ment was  completed  he  declined  to  sign  it.  He  was  especially  dissatisfied  with 
the  extended  and  indefinite  powers  that  were  conferred  on  Congress  and  the 
President,  and  on  his  return  to  Virginia  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Con- 
vention to  which  the  Constitution  was  referred  for  ratification  or  rejection,  and 
there,  with  Patrick  Henry  and  others,  he  continued  his  opposition,  insisting  on 
certain  amendments,  which  are  also  set  forth  in  these  papers.  Among  the 
amendments  which  he  proposed  was  a  Bill  of  Rights  and  about  twenty  altera- 
tions in  the  body  of  the  measure,  and  several  of  these  were  afterwards  adopted. 

The  Documents,  Letters,  and  Drafts  here  offered  show  Mason's  position 
and  that  of  several  of  his  associates  throughout  the  great  contest  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  strong  and  effective  government.  The  proceedings  of  the  Federal 
Convention  were  secret  and  at  its  dissolution  all  the  official  papers  except  the 
Journals  were  burned  and  many  of  the  members  destroyed  their  notes.  Two 
drafts  of  the  Constitution  were  printed  secretly  during  the  debates  for  the  con- 
fidential use  of  the  members,  very  few  of  which  have  survived.  Both  drafts 
are,  however,  in  this  Collection,  and  their  interest  and  importance  are  greatly 
enhanced  by  the  manuscript  notes  in  the  handwriting  of  Mason.  The  Consti- 
tution as  printed  the  third  time  by  order  of  the  Convention  was  in  the  final 
form  as  ultimately  adopted. 

The  Letters  of  Richard  Henry  Lee  in  which  he  opposed  the  adoption  of  the 
Constitution  are  exceedingly  interesting,  particularly  the  letter  in  which  he  pre- 
dicts a  Civil  War  as  an  inevitable  result  of  the  proposed  form  of  government. 
The  letter  of  Mason  regarding  Virginia's  Western  Lands  is  also  of  great  histor- 
ical importance. 

The  Documents,  Letters,  and  Drafts  naturally  belong  together,  for  they 
were  preserved  by  the  same  man  and  relate  to  the  same  subject.  For  this  reason 

THEY    WILL    BE    OFFERED    AS    ONE    LOT    AT   AN    UPSET    PRICE    OF   TEN    THOUSAND 

DOLLARS.  If  this  bid  is  not  received  the  Documents,  Letters,  and  Drafts 
(Numbers  73  to  86)  will  be  sold  separately  without  reserve  as  catalogued. 


62 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS  AND  DOCUMENTS 

ON  THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION 
PRESERVED  BY  GEORGE  MASON  OF  VIRGINIA 
A  MEMBER  OF  THE  FEDERAL  CONVENTION 


NOTE — The  following  Documents,  Letters,  and  Drafts  (Numbers  73  to  86) 
are  offered  as  one  Lot  at  an  upset  price  of  Ten  Thousand  Dollars.  If  this 
bid  is  not  received  they  will  be  sold  separately  without  reserve  as  catalogued. 


73  MASON  (GEORGE).  Autograph  Document,  2  pp.,  small  4to,  written 
during  the  sitting  of  the  Federal  Convention,  probably  May,  1787.  Pre- 
served under  silk  gauze. 

On  one  side  of  the  sheet,  he  has  written  "G.  Mason  begs  the  favour  of 
Majr.  Jackson  [the  Convention's  secretary]  to  correct  the  following  Resolu- 
tion, in  the  manner  it  hath  been  agreed  to  by  the  Convention."  Then  follows 
the  resolution  upon  the  manner  of  election  of  the  "second  branch  of  the 
Legislature  of  the  United  States,"  with  the  desired  change  made  in  Major 
Jackson's  hand  from  "triennially"  to  "biennially."  This  resolution  was 
discussed  in  the  Convention  at  the  sitting  on  May  3ist.  This  side  of  the 
sheet  has  been  crossed  out  in  ink,  but  not  in  a  manner  to  interfere  with 
its  legibility. 

The  reverse  side  contains  a  draft  of  his  speech  upon  the  manner  of 
electing  the  two  branches  of  the  legislature,  which  was  discussed  at  the 
same  time  as  above.  He  makes  a  clear  distinction  between  the  "Circum- 
stances, Situation,  Character,  &  Genius"  of  the  American  and  other  Peo- 
ples, and  continues,  "Conclusions  have  been  drawn  that  the  People  of  these 
United  States  would  refuse  to  adopt  a  Government  founded  more  on  an  equal 
representation  of  the  People  themselves,  than  on  the  distinct  representation  of 
each  separate  individual  State. — //  the  different  States  in  our  Union  always 
had  been  as  now  run  substantially  £5*  in  reality  distinct  sovereign  nations,  this 
kind  of  reasoning  would  have  great  Force;  but  if  the  premises  on  which  it  is 
founded  are  mere  assumptions  .  .  .  no  satisfactory  conclusions  can  be  drawn 
from  them." 

63 


74  MASON  (GEORGE).  Autograph  Document,  ^l/2  pp.,  small  4to,  closely 
written;  preserved  under  silk  gauze.  Contains  draft  of  his  Speech  be- 
fore the  Federal  Convention,  advocating  three  persons  instead  of  one  as 
Supreme  Executive  of  the  United  States.  [June,  1787.] 

This  speech  contains  more  material  and  is  more  firmly  expressed  than 
that  mentioned  in  the  Madison  Papers  as  being  delivered  to  the  Conven- 
tion on  June  4th.  He  argues  that  his  council  of  three  would  provide  for 
sickness  or  disability  in  the  executive,  would  greatly  strengthen  the  "Coun- 
cil of  Revision,"  and  that  the  tendency  to  vest  strong  and  extensive  powers 
in  the  executive  would,  were  that  executive  only  one  person,  result  in  the 
republican  form  of  government  degenerating  into  a  monarchy.  He  con- 
siders that  the  virtues  he  admits  centralized  power  to  possess  are  fully 
compensated  for  in  a  democracy  by  "the  attachment  of  the  Citizens  to  their 
Laws,  to  their  Freedom,  &  to  their  Country. — Every  husbandman  will  be 
quickly  converted  to  a  soldier,  when  he  knows  &  feels  that  he  is  to  fight  not  in 
defence  of  the  rights  of  a  particular  Family,  or  a  Prince,  but  for  his  own  .  .  . 
and  who  that  reflects  seriously  upon  the  situation  of  America,  in  the  beginning 
of  the  late  war — without  Arms — without  Soldiers — without  Trade,  Money,  or 
Credit — in  a  manner  destitute  of  all  Resources,  but  must  ascribe  our  Success 
to  this  pervading  all-powerful  Principle."  He  concludes,  "//  the  executive 
is  vested  in  three  Persons,  one  chosen  from  the  Northern,  one  from  the  Middle 
y  one  from  the  Southern  States,  will  it  not  contribute  to  quiet  the  minds  of  the 
people  .  .  .  &  consequently  [be]  the  best  Security  for  the  Stability  &  Dura- 
tion of  our  Government  upon  the  invaluable  principles  of  Liberty." 

This  interesting  proposal  was  finally  defeated  in  the  Convention  by  a 
vote  of  7  States  against  3,  but  the  support  it  received  indicates  the  very 
strong  fear  felt  throughout  the  country  that  the  granting  of  large  powers 
to  one  individual  might  tend  to  establish  a  monarchial  system  in  the  young 
Republic. 


75  MASON  (GEORGE).  Autograph  Manuscript,  2  pp.,  folio,  containing 
Amendments  to  be  proposed  to  the  Federal  Constitution  during  the 
sitting  of  the  Convention,  1787.  Preserved  under  silk  gauze. 

Contains  a  list  of  eighteen  amendments  and  suggestions,  with  the  results 
of  ^voting  marked  against  some,  viz.:  "Disagreed,"  "Refused,"  "Agreed 
to";  others  have  nothing  marked,  presumably  those  the  object  of  which 
had  been  secured  by  other  amendments. 

The  fourth  proposal  on  this  list,  respecting  the  provision  of  State  mili- 
tia, reads:  "That  the  Liberties  of  the  People  may  be  better  secured  against 
the  danger  of  regular  Troops  or  Standing  Armys  in  time  of  Peace." 

64 


The  eleventh,  which  was  carried  and  embodied  in  the  Constitution, 
limits  the  appointing  power  of  the  President  as  follows:  "but  the  Congress 
may  by  Law  vest  the  appointment  of  such  inferior  officers  as  they  may  think 
proper  in  the  President  alone,  in  the  Courts  of  Law,  or  the  Heads  of  Depart- 
ments." 

The  fifteenth,  relating  to  Treason  objects  because  "no  Exception  or 
Provision  [is  made]  for  the  wife — who  may  be  innocent,  &  ought  not  to 
be  involvd  in  Ruin  from  the  Guilt  of  the  Husband."  This  was  rejected  by 
the  Convention  and  the  clause  remained  "during  ihe  life  of  the  person 
attainted." 

Regarding  the  Fifth  Article  of  the  Constitution  he  says:  "By  this 
Article  Congress  only  have  the  power  of  proposing  Amendments  at  any  future 
time  to  this  Constitution,  &  shoud  it  prove  ever  so  oppressive,  the  whole  people 
of  America  cant  make,  or  even  propose,  Alterations  to  it;  a  doctrine  utterly 
subsersive  [subversive]  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Rights  and  Liber- 
ties of  the  People." 

Other  proposals  relate  to  the  office  of  Vice  President,  the  Journal  of  the 
Senate,  navigation  acts,  taxes  and  duties  on  trade  between  States,  etc. 


76  MASON  (GEORGE).  Autograph  Document,  presumably  by  a  Member 
of  the  Constitutional  Convention,  with  interesting  corrections  and  addi- 
tions in  George  Mason's  autograph.  \%  pp.,  4to.  [1787.]  Preserved 
under  silk  gauze. 

Kate  Mason  Rowland,  in  her  life  of  George  Mason,  calls  this  a  chip 
from  the  convention  in  an  unknown  hand,  and  reprints  it  entire  in  the 
appendix.  The  document  is  of  considerable  interest,  as  it  is  in  substance 
the  same  as  the  parts  of  Article  III  of  the  completed  Constitution,  relating 
to  the  Judiciary,  the  difference  in  the  drafts  being  largely  in  form. 

There  are  several  interlineations  in  Mason's  hand,  and  a  large  para- 
graph moving  that  Judges  hold  their  offices  during  good  behaviour  is  crossed 
out,  presumably  by  Mason,  as  such  motions  were  sure  to  meet  his  strongest 
opposition. 


RANDOLPH'S  DRAFT 

77  RANDOLPH  (EDMUND).  Autograph  Document.  Draft  of  his  Propo- 
sitions for  the  Constitution  offered  in  the  Committee  of  Detail  of  the 
Convention,  with  amendments  by  Edward  Rutledge.  9  pp.,  folio,  pre- 
served under  silk  gauze.  5  pieces. 

Edmund  Randolph,  Governor  of  the  State  and  leader  of  the  Virginia 
delegation  to  the  Federal  Convention,  introduced  the  general  plan  (the 
first  offered)  of  a  Constitution.  He  also  drafted  a  detailed  proposition  of 
his  own,  which  was  discovered  in  1887  among  the  papers  of  George  Mason. 
THE  DOCUMENT  DESCRIBED  ABOVE  is  that  draft,  which  was  used  as  a  basis 
of  discussion  by  the  Committee  of  Detail  on  which  he  served.  At  the  close 
of  the  Convention  of  1787,  its  secretary,  William  Jackson,  made  a  holo- 
caust of  the  papers  on  his  table  and  many  documents  of  historic  value 
were  destroyed.  Fortunately  a  few  of  the  members  realized  what  momen- 
tous history  was  made  in  those  months,  and  rescued  papers  to  which  they 
could  make  personal  claim.  Among  these  was  George  Mason,  who  retained 
this  most  important  document  by  Randolph,  with  the  others  here  de- 
scribed. 

It  is  really  a  preliminary  plan  for  a  Constitution — one  of  detail  as  well 
as  general  principles.  Numerous  erasures  and  interpolations  occur,  many 
in  the  hand  of  Edward  Rutledge,  some  of  which  suggest  consultation 
with  other  leaders.  As  each  item  was  disposed  of  it  was  ticked  off.  The 
title  "House  of  Delegates"  is  one  of  several  indications  that  its  author 
began  on  the  basis  of  the  Virginia  Constitution  (the  first  republican  Con- 
stitution ever  written),  which  he  helped  to  frame  in  his  twenty-third  year. 

Some  of  the  items  and  clauses  scored  out  and  rejected  exhibit  the 
variety  of  ideas  and  opinions  in  the  Committee  as  to  the  requirements, 
provisions,  and  restrictions  thought  necessary  for  the  safe  conduct  of  the 
Union.  The  confused  look  of  the  MS.  in  places  bears  evidence  of  the 
opposition  each  new  proposal  was  subjected  to  before  it  was  considered 
safe.  One  of  the  provisions  scored  out  as  rejected  concerned  the  qualifi- 
cations of  citizenship  which  were  sanity  of  mind,  residence  for  one  year, 
possession  of  real  property  within  the  State,  or  enrolment  in  the  militia 
for  one  year.  Another  original  proposition  was  the  arrangement  for  the 
payment  of  Senators,  which  required  a  jury  of  merchants  and  farmers  to 
declare  what  was  the  average  value  of  wheat  during  the  past  six  years  in 
the  State  where  the  Legislature  was  sitting,  and  for  the  six  subsequent 
years  the  Senators  were  to  receive  per  diem  the  average  value  of  a  certain 
number  of  bushels  of  wheat.  The  Executive  power,  according  to  this  plan, 
was  to  be  vested  in  a  single  person,  elected  by  the  Legislature  by  ballot. 

66 


RANDOLPH'S   DRAFT  OF  A   CONSTITUTION 

[Number  77] 


He  was  to  hold  office  for  seven  years  and  be  ineligible  thereafter.  An  amend- 
ment by  Rutledge  at  this  point  suggested  the  title  of  "Governor  of  the 
United  People  and  States  of  America:'  The  document  is  rich  in  ideas  which 
served  as  a  basis  for  the  construction  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States. 

The  last  page  is  an  outline  or  draft  of  "An  address  to  satisfy  the  people 
of  the  propriety  of  the  proposed  reform:'  This  is  entirely  in  Randolph's 
hand.  It  was  evidently  his  plan,  when  the  Constitution  was  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  people,  to  address  the  country  at  large,  through  a  communi- 
cation explaining  the  principles  of  the  proposed  Constitution  and  advocat- 
ing its  adoption  as  the  best  substitute  for  the  unsatisfactory  Articles  of 
Confederation  which  were  then  very  weakly  holding  the  Union  together. 


FIRST  PRINTED  DRAFT 

78  FIRST  PRINTED  DRAFT  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES.  Five  printed  proof  sheets  of  the  Constitution, 
with  Manuscript  Notes,  Amendments,  and  Interlineations  in  the  auto- 
graph of  George  Mason.  Pp.  3  to  7  (i  and  2  missing),  5  pp.  folio  (edges 
slightly  frayed,  and  a  small  hole  in  4  sheets  from  a  former  fold  affecting 
two  or  three  words,  all  mounted). 

In  James  Madison's  "Journal  of  the  Constitutional  Convention,"  this 
appears  as  the  FIRST  DRAFT  ORDERED  TO  BE  PRINTED.  It  is  the  result  of 
the  deliberations  of  that  body  from  May  25  to  Aug.  6,  1787.  The  form 
is  that  reported  by  the  Committee  of  Detail  (or  Committee  of  Five)  con- 
sisting of  Rutledge,  Randolph,  Wilson,  Ellsworth,  and  Gorham.  It  com- 
prises twenty-three  Articles,  whereas  the  final  form  is  condensed  into 
seven.  Unfortunately  the  present  copy  lacks  the  first  two  sheets,  which 
contain  Articles  I  to  5  and  the  first  nine  sections  of  Article  6.  Each  mem- 
ber received  a  copy  and  the  separate  articles  were  taken  up  for  debate  in 
detail.  As  they  were  agreed  to,  rejected,  or  modified,  notes  to  that  effect 
were  made  on  this  copy  by  George  Mason. 

One  of  the  interesting  points  about  this  draft  is  the  plan  of  the  Execu- 
tive as  compared  with  that  finally  adopted.  The  Executive  power  was  to 
be  vested  in  a  single  person,  elected  by  the  Legislature,  and  holding  his 
office  for  seven  years,  and  ineligible  for  election  a  second  time.  The  mar- 
ginal notes  appear  to  be  both  personal  objections  on  Mason's  part  and 
amendments  as  the  result  of  debate.  The  clauses  and  sections  which 
were  later  embodied  in  the  second  draft  are  here  indicated  as  "agreed." 

68 


The  clause  relating  to  Legislative  power  to  subdue  rebellion  in  any  State 
was  rejected  and  left  to  be  reconsidered.  The  section  providing  for  the 
settlement  of  disputes  between  States  was  disagreed  to  for  obvious  reasons, 
as  being  too  involved.  Mason's  influence  can  be  seen  in  Article  XXI, 
which  specifies  what  shall  constitute  ratification.  His  jealousy  for  State 
rights  is  here  displayed  in  the  MS.  amendment  at  the  end  of  the  clause: 
"  The  ratification  of  nine  States  shall  be  sufficient  for  organizing  the  Consti- 
tution between  such  States."  This  is  marked  "agreed." 

THIS    IS    THE    FIRST    DRAFT    OF    THE    PROPOSED    CONSTITUTION    ORDERED 
TO   BE    PRINTED   BY  THE    FEDERAL   CONVENTION.       It  W3S   secretly   Struck   off 

for  the  members  as  a  basis  for  the  continuation  of  the  discussion.  Both 
this  and  the  later  drafts  are  of  the  greatest  rarity,  the  number  printed 
being  probably  not  over  sixty  copies.  Nearly  all  copies  were  destroyed. 
Ford,  in  his  Bibliography  of  the  Constitution,  locates  only  four  copies, 
two  in  the  archives  of  the  Department  of  State,  and  one  each  in  the 
Library  of  Congress  and  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  This  Draft 
was  printed  by  Dunlap  of  Philadelphia. 


SECOND  PRINTED  DRAFT 

79  FOUR  PRINTED  PROOF  SHEETS  OF  THE  PROPOSED  CON- 
STITUTION OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  with  Manuscript  Objec- 
tions, Amendments,  and  Interlineations  in  the  autograph  of  George 
Mason.  4  pp.,  folio,  printed,  with  2  pp.  folio  of  manuscript  matter  on 
the  reverse  of  two  of  the  printed  leaves.  Two  preserved  under  silk 
gauze  and  two  mounted  (and  very  slightly  damaged  in  former  fold, 
making  illegible  one  or  two  words). 

On  August  6,  1787,  the  Committee  of  Detail  reported  a  draft  of  a  Consti- 
tution. This  draft,  drawn  up  principally  from  the  first  set  of  resolutions 
submitted  by  Edmund  Randolph,  was  debated  until  September  8th,  dur- 
ing which  period  many  other  resolutions  were  introduced,  some  adopted 
and  others  rejected.  On  September  I2th  another  revision  of  style  and 
rearrangement  of  articles  was  made,  when  it  was  ordered  that  printed  copies 
be  furnished  the  members.  On  the  next  day  they  were  distributed.  The 
present  is  Mason's  copy  of  that  draft,  THE  SECOND  PRINTED  FORM  OF  THE 
PROPOSED  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  No  doubt  this  was 
printed  by  Dunlap,  as  the  first  certainly  was. 

Many  of  the  amendments,  corrections,  and  interlineations  on  this  draft 
in  Mason's  autograph  were  embodied  in  the  final  version  as  submitted  for 

69 


ratification  to  the  State  Conventions.  They  were  the  subjects  of  long  and 
earnest  discussion  among  the  delegates,  and  represent  decisions  of  the 
greatest  importance. 

Following  are  some  of  the  most  important  and  interesting  of  the  manu- 
script corrections  and  interlineations  which  are  found  embodied  in  the 
present  Constitution.  Where  they  were  adopted  in  their  entirety  the 
whole  paragraph  is  quoted,  and  ALL  WORDS  IN  MASON'S  HANDWRITING 

ARE   HERE   QUOTED  IN  ITALICS. 

In  Article  I,  Sect.  2,  third  paragraph,  the  word  "servitude"  has  been 
changed  to  read  "service."  This  paragraph  also  reads:  "The  number  of 
representatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  forty  thousand."  In  the 
final  version  the  words  "forty  thousand"  were  changed  to  "thirty  thou- 
sand." In  the  sixth  paragraph  of  Sect.  3,  same  Article,  the  words  "or 
affirmation"  are  inserted  after  "When  sitting  for  that  purpose  they  shall 
be  on  oath."  Sect.  4,  first  paragraph:  "The  times,  places  and  manner  of 
holding  elections  for  senators  and  representatives,  shall  be  prescribed  in 
each  State  by  the  legislature  thereof:  but  the  Congress  may  at  any  time 
by  law  make  or  alter  such  regulations  except  as  to  place  of  chusing  Senators." 
Sect.  7,  fourth  paragraph,  makes  it  necessary  for  a  bill  to  be  repassed  by 
"two-thirds"  of  both  the  Senate  and  the  House  after  a  veto  by  the  Presi- 
dent; the  original  reading  is  "three-fourths."  Sect.  8,  second  paragraph, 
MS.  amendment  reads:  "but  all  duties,  imposts  &  excises  shall  be  uniform 
throughout  the  United  States."  Sect.  9,  fourth  paragraph  has  been  amended 
to  read:  "No  capitation  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  propor- 
tion to  the  census  or  Enumeration  herein  before  directed  to  be  taken.  No 
preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  Commerce  or  Revenue  to  the 
ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  another;  nor  shall  vessels  bound  to  or  from 
one  State  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear  or  pay  Duties,  in  another."  Sixth  para- 
graph, same  section:  "No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  but 
in  consequence  of  appropriations  made  by  law;  and  a  regular  Statement  y 
Acct.  of  the  Rects.  y  expenditure  of  all  public  money  shall  be  published  from 
time  to  time."  The  first  paragraph  of  Sect.  10  has  been  entirely  deleted 
and  the  following  MS.  amendment  made:  "Sect.  10.  No  State  shall  enter 
into  any  Treaty,  Alliance  or  Confederation,  grant  letters  of  marque  y  reprisal, 
coin  money,  emit  Bills  of  Credit,  make  anything  but  Gold  or  Silver  coin  a  Ten- 
der in  payment  of  debts,  pass  any  Bill  of  Attainder,  ex  post  facto  Law,  or  Law 
impairing  the  obligations  of  Contracts,  or  grant  any  Title  of  Nobility."  Sect. 
10,  second  paragraph,  amended  to  read:  "No  State  shall  without  the  con- 
sent of  Congress  lay  any  Imposts  or  Duties  on  Exports  or  Imports,  except 
what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its  Inspection  Laws  y  the  nett 
produce  of  all  such  Duties  and  Imposts  laid  by  any  State,  shall  be  for  the  use 

70 


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enter  into  any  agrccmeuo^lr  compafl  \vkli  anotlicr  llatc,-uor  wJ'''^* 
r,  unlefs  K«MH»  naualiy  invaded  T'  JS 

M-  admit 
It. 


'El 


, 
l>i  >«  IK,  aTrfbt 


It. 

The  executive  power  fliall  be  verted  in  a  preCidrnt  of  the  United  States  of  America.  He 
is  office  during  the  term  of  four  years,  and,  together  with  the  vicc-pretidcnt,  chofcn  for 

•"-l*t 


The  Congtcfs  may  deterging jhe  time  of  chilling  the  c! 
all  give  their  votes;  UuUSJuifiSSa  iliail  bc«N»the  fame  i 


flsall  g 


in. 

S<-(7.  t .  The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States,  both  in  law  and  equity,  fliall  be  vetted  in  one  ' 
supreme  court,  andjn  fuch  inferior  courts  as  the  Congrefs  may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and 
rlUblilh.  The  judges,  both  of 'the  fupreme  and  inferior  courts,  fliall  hold  their  offices  during 
good  behaviour,  and  fliall,  at  dated  times,  receive  for  their  fervices,  acompcofation,  which  fliall 
not  be  diminifhcd  during  their  continuance  in  office. 

Scil.  2.  The  judicial  power  (hall  extend  to  all  cafes,  bodtio  Jaw  a/id,  equity,  arifing  under  thi« 
conflitution,  the  laws  p!  the  I'nitcd  States,  and  treaties  made,  or  whicft  ui^il  be  made,  under 
*  their 


4 


SECOND   PRINTED    DRAFT  OF   THE   CONSTITUTION 

[Number  79] 


of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  and  all  such  Laws  shall  be  subject  to  the 
Countroul  of  Congress.  No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress, 
lay  any  duty  of  tonnage,  keep  troops  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  enter 
into  any  agreement  or  compact  with  another  State,  or  with  a  foreign  power, 
or  engage  in  any  war,  unless  actually  invaded  or  in  such  danger  as  will 
not  admit  of  delay" 

In  Article  II,  Sect.  I,  the  seventh  clause  amended  to:  "The  President 
shall  at  stated  times  receive  for  his  services,  a  Compensation  which  shall 
neither  be  encreased  nor  diminished  during  the  period  for  which  he  shall 
have  been  elected  and  he  shall  not  receive  within  that  period  any  other  Emolu- 
ment from  the  United  States  or  either  of  them."  A  marginal  note  referring 
to  Sect.  2,  which  relates  to  the  President's  power  of  pardoning,  says: 
"an  amendment  offered  to  except  his  power  of  pardon  in  the  case  of  Treason 
y  vest  it  in  the  Legislature,  rejected" 

Article  V,  amended  to  read:  "The  Congress,  whenever  two  [thirds  of 
both  houses  shall  deem  necessary  or  on  the  application]  of  two-thirds  of 
the  legislatures  of  the  several  States,  shall  propose  amendments  to  this 
Constitution,  which  shall  be  valid  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  part 
thereof,  when  the  same  shall  have  been  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of  at 
least  y^ihs  of  the  several  States,  or  by  conventions  in  three-fourths  thereof, 
as  the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification  may  be  proposed  by  the  Con- 
gress: Provided,  that  no  amendment,  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the 
year  1808  shall  in  any  manner  affect  the  1st  £ff  $.th  clauses  in  the  Qth  section 
of  the  1st  Article,  and  that  no  State  without  its  consent — 

There  are  numerous  other  minor  changes  in  construction,  of  import- 
ance as  a  whole,  but  irrelevant  to  the  object  here  set  forth,  which  is  to 
detail  the  manuscript  amendments,  as  determined  by  debate,  and  which 
appear  as  positive  articles  or  clauses  of  the  finally  ratified  Constitution. 

At  the  final  meeting  of  the  Convention  for  the  signing  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, three  delegates,  George  Mason,  Edmund  Randolph,  and  Elbridge 
Gerry,  declined  giving  it  the  sanction  of  their  names.  On  the  back  of  two 
of  the  sheets  of  this  draft  is  a  formal  statement  of  Mason's  objections, 
drawn  up  in  his  autograph  and  entitled  "Objections  to  this  Constitution  of 
Government."  Briefly  summarized,  it  would  seem  that  he  greatly  feared  a 
too  strong  central  government  and  regarded  the  powers  of  Congress  as  det- 
rimental to  State  rights.  He  construes  the  representation  in  the  House 
to  be  a  mere  shadow  and  not  the  substance  of  representation  of  the  people, 
and  fears  the  laws  directly  affecting  the  masses  were  to  be  made  by  men 
not  directly  concerned  and  not  acquainted  with  their  effects  and  conse- 
quences. He  looks  upon  the  Senate  as  a  non-representative  body  and  ob- 

72 


jects  to  their  authority  to  originate  appropriations,  alter  money  bills,  and 
regulate  the  salaries  of  officers  appointed  by  the  Executive  with  the  Sen- 
ate's concurrence.  The  Federal  Judiciary  plan  is  disapproved,  as  he  sees 
in  it  a  menace  to  the  State  courts.  The  Vice  President  he  regards  as  an 
unnecessary  officer,  who,  he  says,  "for  want  of  other  employment  is  made 
president  of  the  Senate;  thereby  dangerously  blending  the  executive  £5?  legisla- 
tive powers;  besides  always  giving  to  some  one  of  the  States  unnecessary  & 
unjust  pre-eminence  over  the  others."  The  President's  power  of  pardon  is 
another  cause  for  alarm,  which  power,  he  says,  "may  be  sometimes  exercised 
to  screen  from  punishment  those  whom  he  had  secretly  instigated  to  commit 
the  crime,  &  thereby  prevent  a  Discovery  of  his  own  Guilt."  Next  he  points 
out  the  opposite  interest  of  the  five  Southern  to  the  eight  Northern  States, 
and  claims  that  commercial  regulations  could  be  forced  through  the  Sen- 
ate by  these  Northern  States  to  the  great  injury  and  impoverishment  of 
the  Southern  States.  In  closing  he  says:  "77m  Government  will  set  out  a 
moderate  Aristocracy;  it  is  at  present  impossible  to  foresee  whether  it  will, 
in  its  operation,  produce  a  Monarchy,  or  a  corrupt  tyrannical  Aristocracy; 
it  will  most  probably  vibrate  some  years  between  the  two,  and  then  terminate 
in  the  one  or  the  other." 

THE  IMPORTANCE  AND  VALUE  OF  THIS  DOCUMENT  ARE  INCREASED  BY 
THE  FACT  THAT  NEARLY  ALL  SUCH  PAPERS  WERE  DESTROYED.  FORD 
SUCCEEDED  IN  LOCATING  ONLY  THREE  COPIES  IN  PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS— 
THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE,  THE  LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS,  AND  THE  MAS- 
SACHUSETTS HISTORICAL  SOCIETY,  AND  ONLY  ONE  OTHER  COPY  is  KNOWN 
TO  BE  IN  PRIVATE  HANDS,  AND  THAT  IS  NOT  AVAILABLE  FOR  PUBLIC  SALE. 

IT  WOULD  BE  DIFFICULT  TO  IMAGINE  A  MORE  INTERESTING  ITEM  OF 
AMERICANA  THAN  THIS,  SHOWING  AS  IT  DOES  THE  GRADUAL  AND  CAREFUL 
CONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  OUR  REPUBLIC. 


73 


LEE  AND  MASON  LETTERS  AND  DOCUMENTS 


80  LEE  (RICHARD  HENRY).  Autograph  Document,  itf  pp.,  large  folio, 
preserved  under  silk  gauze;  and  mounted  wrapper  with  full  address, 
also  in  Lee's  hand,  to  "George  Mason,  Esquire,  of  Gunston  Hall,  in 
Fairfax  County,  Richmond,  Virginia,"  franked  and  dated  "Richd.  H. 
Lee,  1787  [Alexandria,  Nov.  2]."  2  pieces. 

This  document  contains  many  suggestions  which  Mason  embodied  in 
his  Declaration  of  Rights  as  amendments  to  the  Federal  Constitution 
when  it  was  presented  to  Virginia  for  ratification.  Among  them  are:  Lib- 
erty of  Conscience,  Freedom  of  the  Press,  Trial  by  Jury  in  Vicinage  of 
Accused,  Right  of  Popular  Assembly  and  Petition,  Opposition  to  Standing 
Armies  and  Excessive  Bail,  etc.  Virginia's  Declaration  of  Rights  was  the 
first  to  be  drafted  and  adopted  in  America,  and  the  first  anywhere  in  which 
the  majesty  of  the  individual,  without  qualification,  is  asserted.  Many  of 
the  "Rights"  were  eventually  accepted  by  Congress  and  the  States  as 
amendments  to  the  Federal  Constitution. 

Lee  was  one  of  the  most  earnest  opponents  of  the  adoption  of  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution;  his  fear  that  a  consolidated  national  power  would  ulti- 
mately destroy  the  State  governments,  and  his  firm  individualist  outlook 
are  clearly  shown  in  the  opening  sentences  of  his  present  document.  "  It  having 
been  found  from  universal  experience  that  the  most  express  declarations  and 
reservations  are  necessary  to  protect  the  just  rights  and  liberty  of  Mankind 
from  the  silent,  powerful,  and  ever  active  conspiracy  of  those  who  govern  .  .  . 
[and]  such  precautions  are  proper  to  restrain  and  regulate  the  exercise  of  the 
great  powers  necessarily  given  to  Rulers." 


8 1  MASON  (GEORGE).  Autograph  Document,  5  pp.,  small  410,  headed 
"Amendments  Proposed  to  the  new  Constitution  of  Government";  and 
another  draft  of  the  second  part  of  the  same,  viz.,  the  Amendments 
added  to  the  Declaration  of  Rights,  4  pp.,  small  410.  All  preserved 
under  silk  gauze.  [1787-88.] 

These  documents  include  all  of  the  amendments  to  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution submitted  to  Congress  by  Virginia.  They  embrace  a  "Declara- 
tion of  Rights"  and  a  list  of  thirteen  amendments,  as  described  below. 

They  are  in  two  portions,  both  commencing:  "  That  there  be  a  Declara- 
tion or  Bill  of  Rights,  asserting,  and  securing  from  Encroachment  the  essen- 
tial and  unalienable  Rights  of  the  People,  in  some  such  Manner  as  the  follow- 
ing." In  the  first  portion  the  Bill  of  Rights  immediately  follows,  each 
paragraph  numbered  I  to  20,  with  numbers  interchanged.  The  sense  of 

74 


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MASON'S   DECLARATION  OF   RIGHTS 

[Number  81] 


the  various  sections  of  this  Bill  of  Rights  is  largely  that  of  the  original 
Declaration  of  Rights  of  Virginia,  drawn  up  by  Mason  in  1776,  though 
the  form  in  some  cases  differs  slightly  and  the  sixteen  clauses  of  the  Declar- 
ation are  here  extended  to  twenty.  Sections  I,  2,  4,  5,  7,  n,  13,  16,  17, 
and  20  of  the  present  "Bill"  are  substantially  the  same  as  Sections  I,  2, 
4,  5,  7,  10,  9,  n,  12,  and  14,  of  the  "Declaration." 

Section  3  here  contains  the  addition  of  "and  that  the  doctrine  of  non- 
resist[ance]  against  arbitrary  power  and  oppression  is  absurd,  slavish,  and 
destructive  of  the  good  and  happiness  of  mankind" ;  Section  6  is  preceded  by 
the  assertion,  "  That  the  Right  of  the  People  to  participate  in  the  Legislature 
is  the  best  Security  of  Liberty,  and  the  foundation  of  all  free  Government" ; 
Section  8  excepts  "time  of  actual  War,  Invasion,  or  Rebellion' ;  Section  9 
is  embodied  in  8  of  the  Declaration;  Section  14  limits  and  disapproves  of 
the  granting  of  search  warrants;  Section  16  adds  the  Right  to  Freedom  of 
Speech;  Section  15  asserts  the  Right  of  Public  Assembly  and  of  Petition; 
Section  17  adds  "That  the  People  have  a  Right  to  bear  arms";  Section  18  is 
"  That  no  Soldier  in  time  of  Peace  ought  to  be  quartered  in  any  House  with- 
out the  Consent  of  the  Owner,  and  in  time  of  war  only  by  the  Civil  Magistrate 
in  such  manner  as  the  laws  direct" ;  and  Section  19,  "  That  any  person  reli- 
giously scrupulous  of  bearing  arms  ought  to  be  exempted,  upon  payment  of 
an  Equivalent,  to  employ  another  to  bear  Arms  in  his  Stead." 

The  second  portion  begins:  "And  that  there  be  also  the  following  Amend- 
ments to  the  Constitution."  Immediately  following  are  the  thirteen  amend- 
ments, the  first :  "  That  each  State  in  the  Union  shall  retain  its  Sovereignty, 
Freedom  and  Independence,  and  every  power,  jurisdiction  and  right,  which 
is  not  by  this  Constitution  expressly  delegated  to  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States."  Others  relate  to  Representatives;  the  powers  of  Congress  in 
elections,  and  in  taxation  and  excise;  impeachment;  the  restriction  of 
Representatives,  Senators,  and  Judges  from  holding  any  other  office  dur- 
jng  their  terms  of  service,  etc.  The  sixth  amendment  proposes  "  That  there 
shall  be  a  constitutional  responsible  Council,  to  assist  in  the  administration 
of  Government,  with  the  power  of  chusing  out  of  their  own  Body  a  President, 
who  in  case  of  Death,  Resignation  or  Disability  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  shall  act,  pro  tempore,  as  Pice-President,  instead  of  a  V ice-President 
elected  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  the  Constitution,"  etc.  Amendments  7 
to  1 1  forbid  Navigation  Laws  without  the  consent  of  two-thirds  of  both 
Houses,  Standing  Armies  in  times  of  Peace,  and  the  President  from  com- 
manding the  Army  or  Navy  in  person  without  a  like  majority,  the  enlist- 
ment of  soldiers  for  over  four  years,  and  a  mutiny  act  for  a  longer  period 
than  two  years. 

The  document  throughout  is  in  the  autograph  of  George  Mason.     He 

76 


was  one  of  Virginia's  delegates  to  the  Federal  Convention,  and  one  of  the 
three  who  refused  to  sign  the  Constitution.  Mason  was  again  chosen  a 
member  of  the  State  Convention  to  ratify  or  reject  the  Constitution  on 
its  presentation  to  Virginia.  He  led  his  State's  opposition  to  its  ratifica- 
tion and  so  determined  did  that  become  that  many  of  those  who  saw  how 
indispensable  a  strong  Federal  power  was,  despaired  of  the  adoption  of  the 
only  instrument  that  provided  it.  It  was  with  the  greatest  satisfaction 
to  all  its  friends  that  Virginia  finally  ratified  the  Federal  Constitution, 
practically  assuring  its  success,  although  adding  the  present  amendments, 
many  of  which  were  subsequently  accepted  by  Congress. 

The  draft  of  the  second  part  (in  another  hand)  would  seem  to  be  an 
earlier  one,  and  was  probably  written  by  a  member  of  the  convention  for 
his  convenience  in  debate.  All  of  the  clauses  up  to  the  tenth  are  in  effect 
similar  to  that  described  above,  although  in  a  few  places  the  language 
differs  slightly.  Those  sections  not  included  in  the  version  in  Mason's 
hand  relate  to  Militia;  the  power  of  Congress  in  legislation;  the  Judicial 
power  over  diplomatic  officers  and  in  controversies  between  States; criminal 
prosecutions,  etc. 

A  few  changes  and  corrections,  and  the  re-arrangement  of  the  numbers 
would  indicate  that  this  was  the  completed  draft  submitted  to  the  Conven- 
tion by  Mason,  and  that  the  alterations  were  made  in  debate.  The  im- 
portance of  this  document  can  be  appreciated  only  by  keeping  in  view  the 
fact  that  the  ratification  of  the  Constitution  by  a  majority  of  the  Conven- 
tion was  contingent  on  the  submission  to  Congress  of  these  amendments, 
and  that  by  submitting  them  to  Congress  Virginia  implicitly  informed  the 
country  that  by  her  ratification  she  did  not  relinquish  but  re-asserted 
those  State  rights  which  in  the  minds  of  many  of  her  statesmen  were 
more  important  than  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

MASON  (GEORGE).     Autograph   Document,  2  pp.  small  folio,  relating 
to  the  work  of  the  Virginia  State  Convention  appointed  to  ratify  or  reject 
the  proposed  Federal  Constitution.     [1788.]     Preserved  under  silk  gauze 
(small  corner  cut  off,  eliminating  probably  two  words). 
One  side  contains  four  forms  of  the  resolution  to  embody  the  Declara- 
tion of  Rights   and  Amendments  in  the  Constitution.     The  forms  differ 
somewhat,  the  final  one  being  that  ratification  should  be  made  after  the 
adoption  of  the  Amendments,  and  that  the  Rights  and  Amendments  be 
communicated  to  the  other  States  of  the  American  Union.     The  first  part 
of  this  form  was  carried  and  ratification  made  conditional  on  the  submis- 
sion to  Congress  of  the  Amendments. 

The  other  side  contains  a  resolution  of  very  great  interest,  evidently 

77 


made  before  the  final  adjournment  of  the  State  Convention,  but  after  the 
ratification  of  the  Constitution  on  June  25,  1788.  It  says  that  a  letter 
received  by  Governor  Randolph  of  Virginia  from  Governor  Clinton  of  New 
York  suggesting  "free  and  cordial  Intercourse  &  communication  of  Senti- 
ments between  the  Conventions,"  should  have  been  laid  before  the  Virginia 
Convention  for  consideration  but  was  withheld  until  the  day  after  the 
ratification.  While  the  conventions  of  Virginia  and  New  York  were  sit- 
ting, great  anxiety  was  felt  for  the  Constitution,  which  then  required 
ratification  by  one  more  State  to  become  effective.  Governor  Randolph 
was  a  warm  advocate  of  ratification  and  this  resolution  proves  that  he 
dreaded  collusion  between  the  opponents  of  the  Constitution  in  the  two 
States  to  such  an  extent  that  he  withheld  the  communication  from  New 
York,  the  delivery  of  which  to  the  Virginia  convention  might  have  seriously 
strengthened  the  hands  of  the  opponents  of  ratification  and  resulted  in 
ultimate  abandonment  of  the  Federal  Constitution.  The  majority  in  Vir- 
ginia in  favor  of  ratification  was  only  ten,  and  this  majority  was  not  ob- 
tained till  the  Bill  of  Rights  and  a  long  list  of  Amendments  had  been  drawn 
up  to  be  submitted  to  Congress. 


83  LEE  (RICHARD  HENRY).  Autograph  Letter  Signed,  4  pp.,  410,  New 
York,  October  i,  1787.  Preserved  under  silk  gauze.  To  [George  Mason], 
regarding  Congressional  action  on  the  proposed  Constitution. 

Richard  Henry  Lee  was  sitting  in  Congress  as  a  member  from  Virginia 
when  the  proposed  Constitution  was  reported  to  that  body,  and  he  earnestly 
opposed  its  adoption.  He  thought  the  granting  of  broad  powers  to  the  Exec- 
utive and  Congress  would  gradually  weaken  the  State  governments  and 
eventually  obliterate  them  as  units  in  the  government.  He  was  most  zealous 
of  the  retention  of  State  rights  and  took  the  gloomy  view  that  its  adoption, 
without  the  amendments  advocated  by  the  majority  of  the  Virginia  and 
South  Carolina  delegates,  would  eventually  result  in  a  Civil  War.  It  is 
interesting  here  to  note  that  thus  early  the  interests  of  the  North  and  South 
were  thought  to  be  in  opposition,  and  that  a  prediction  was  made  which 
eventually  came  true.  He  writes  in  part: 

"  The  greatness  of  the  powers  given,  &  the  multitude  of  Places  to  be  created, 
produces  a  coalition  of  Monarchy  men,  Military  men,  Aristocrats,  and  Drones, 
whose  noise,  impudence  y  zeal  exceeds  all  belief — Whilst  the  Commercial 
plunder  of  the  South  stimulates  the  rapacious  trader.  In  this  state  of  things, 
the  Patriot  voice  is  raised  in  vain  for  such  changes  and  securities  as  reason 

78 


•»•>    f 


•, 
^^^^^(9^ 

*'* 


*Y  sKt-s  L*c-?T^'/fa'l^vL4*«*r 


LEE'S   OBJECTIONS   TO   THE    CONSTITUTION 

[Number  83] 


and  Experience  prove  to  be  necessary  against  the  encroachments  of  power 
upon  the  indispensable  rights  of  human  nature.  Upon  due  consideration  of 
the  Constitution  under  which  we  now  act,  some  of  us  were  clearly  of  the  opinion 
that  the  i$th  Article  of  the  Confederation  precluded  us  from  giving  an  opinion 
concerning  a  plan  subversive  of  the  present  system  and  eventually  forming  a 
New  Confederacy  of  Nine  instead  of  13  States.  The  contrary  doctrine  was 
asserted  with  great  violence  in  expectation  of  the  strong  majority  with  which 
they  might  send  it  forward  under  terms  of  much  approbation.  Having  pro- 
cured an  opinion  that  Congress  was  qualified  to  consider,  to  amend,  to  approve 
or  disapprove — the  next  game  was  to  determine  that  tho  a  right  to  amend  existed, 
it  would  be  highly  inexpedient  to  exercise  that  right;  but  merely  to  transmit 
it  with  respectful  marks  of  approbation —  In  this  state  of  things  I  avail  my- 
self of  the  right  to  amend,  &  move  the  amendments,  copy  of  which  I  send  here- 
with y  called  the  ayes  £sf  nays  to  fix  them  on  the  journal —  This  greatly 
alarmed  the  Majority  &  vexed  them  extremely — for  the  plan  is,  to  push  the 
business  on  with  great  dispatch,  and  with  as  little  opposition  as  possible;  that 
it  may  be  adopted  before  it  has  stood  the  test  of  reflection  fcs?  due  examination — 
They  found  it  most  eligible  at  last  to  transmit  it  merely,  without  approving  or 
disapproving;  provided  nothing  but  the  transmission  should  appear  on  the 
Journal —  This  compromise  was  settled  and  they  took  the  opportunity  of  in- 
serting the  word  Unanimously,  which  applied  only  to  simple  transmissions, 
hoping  to  have  it  mistaken  for  an  Unanimous  approbation  of  the  thing —  It 
states  that  Congress  having  received  the  Constitution  unanimously  transmit  it 
&c. —  It  is  certain  that  no  Approbation  was  given —  This  Constitution  has  a 
great  many  excellent  regulations  in  it,  and  if  it  should  be  reasonably  amended 
would  be  a  fine  system—  As  it  is,  I  think  'tis  past  doubt  that  if  it  should 
be  established,  either  a  tyranny  will  result  from  it,  or  it  will  be  prevented  by  a 
Civil  War —  I  am  clearly  of  opinion  with  you  that  it  should  be  sent  back 
with  amendments  reasonable  and  assent  to  it  with-held  until  such  amendments 
are  admitted,9'  etc. 

Then  follow  suggestions  for  bringing  about  concerted  action  between 
Virginia  and  South  Carolina  to  enforce  the  amendments  before  ratification 
by  the  State  Conventions. 


84  LEE  (RICHARD  HENRY).  Autograph  Letter  Signed,  4  pp.,  folio. 
Chantilly  [Va.],  June  the  9th,  1779.  Preserved  under  silk  gauze  (outer 
margins,  before  being  strengthened  were  slightly  frayed  but  are  not  in 
any  part  illegible). 

Presumably  addressed  to  George  Mason,  among  whose  papers  it  was 
found.     Mason  had  been  elected  to  Congress,  and  although  he  refused  to 

80 


serve  he  carried  on  an  extensive  correspondence  with  prominent  Virginians 
and  was  of  great  service  to  the  Colony  in  keeping  alive  an  enthusiastic  in- 
terest in  public  affairs. 

The  letter  largely  relates  to  and  severely  condemns  the  peculations 
then  so  disturbing  the  public  confidence.  He  writes:  "  The  force  of  party, 
and  the  power  of  fortune,  it  seems  to  me,  are  leagued  to  distress  if  not  to  ruin 
America.  .  .  .  The  inundation  of  money  appears  to  have  overflowed  virtue, 
and  I  fear  will  bury  the  liberty  of  America  in  the  same  grave.  .  .  .  Now,  to 
get  into  office  is  another  thing  for  getting  into  wealth  on  public  funds  and  to 
the  public  injury."  "In  choosing  the  executive  officers  of  the  government, 
integrity,  ability,  and  industry  must  be  attended  to,  or  we  are  inevitably  ruined. 
.  .  .  To  me  it  appears  of  indispensable  necessity  that  instructions  be  given 
to  your  delegates  in  terms  peremptory  and  express  that  they  move  Congress 
that  the  most  immediate  and  effectual  settlement  be  made  of  all  public  ac- 
counts." He  deprecates  the  action  of  the  Assembly  in  issuing  another 
million  pounds  and  is  apprehensive  of  its  effect  on  other  States.  Of  mili- 
tary matters  he  writes:  "It  is,  I  think,  to  be  feared,  that  the  enemies'  late 
success  in  this  State  will  encourage  other  visits."  He  wishes  that  all  stores 
and  provisions  might  be  further  removed  from  the  Ships  of  War  as  they 
are  a  continual  temptation,  and  suggests  that  moveable  batteries  in  the 
form  of  "Gallies"  be  provided,  as  "Forts  on  land  will  be  avoided  when  the 
foe  is  weak,  and  always  fall  when  they  are  strong."  He  mentions  also  the 
coming  of  peace  and,  in  connection  with  it,  "Navigation  of  the  Mississippi 
and  our  domestic  fishery  on  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland." 


85  MASON  (GEORGE).  Autograph  Letter  Signed,  ^/2  pp.,  folio.  Gunston 
Hall  [Va.],  Octor.  iQth,  1782.  To  Edmund  Randolph,  Attorney  General, 
Richmond.  With  addressed  wrapper.  Each  piece  preserved  under  silk 
gauze.  4  pieces. 

Very  important  letter,  closely  written,  dealing  with  the  question  of 
Virginia's  Western  territory.  He  says:  "/  quitted  my  seat  in  the  House  of 
Delegates,  from  a  conviction  that  I  was  no  longer  able  to  do  any  essential 
Service.  Some  of  the  public  Measures  have  been  so  contrary  to  my  Notions 
of  policy  and  of  Justice,  that  I  wished  to  be  no  longer  concerned  with,  or  an- 
swerable for  them,  and  to  spend  the  Remnant  of  my  Life  in  Quiet  and  Retire- 
ment. Yet  with  all  her  faults,  my  Country  will  ever  have  my  warmest  wishes 
and  Affections;  and  I  would  at  any  time,  most  cheerfully,  sacrifice  my  own 
Ease  and  domestic  enjoyment  to  the  Public-Good:  but  tho'  I  look  upon  assert- 
ing the  Right  to  our  Western  Territory,  and  thereby  putting  a  Stop  to  the  dan- 
Si 


gerous  usurpations  of  Congress,  before  they  shall  have  been  established  into 
precedents,  to  be  a  matter  of  the  utmost  Importance,  I  do  not  know  that  it  is 
in  my  power  to  give  the  Committee  any  assistance." 

He  recounts  the  information  and  evidence  he  had  previously  submitted, 
mentioning  "Col.  Washington,  now  His  Excellency  General  Washington" 
and  "the  present  Revolution,"  giving  a  very  important  historical  sketch  of 
the  Western  lands.  Referring  to  the  mutual  guarantees  to  the  States,  he 
says:  "It  was  upon  these  express  conditions  that  Virginia  acceded  to  the 
Articles  of  Confederation:  the  present  attempt  therefore  to  dismember  Virginia, 
without  her  Consent,  is  a  flagrant  Breach  of  Public  Faith,  and  if  Carry  ed  into 
Execution,  dissolves  the  federal  Compact.  .  .  .  Congress  are  properly  the 
Delegates  of  the  different  States,  with  certain  powers  defined.  .  .  .  They  may 
in  time  proceed  to  fill  up  their  own  Vacancy  s,  vote  themselves  members  for 
life,  and  what  not!  .  .  .  Posterity  will  reflect  with  indignation,  that  this 
fatal  Lust  of  Sovereignty  which  lost  Great  Britain  her  western  World  .  .  . 
shoud  even  during  our  contest  against  it,  be  revived  among  ourselves,  and  fos- 
tered by  the  very  men  who  were  appointed  to  oppose  it." 

He  continues  to  urge  resistance,  giving  many  interesting  arguments  on 
behalf  of  Virginia's  retention  of  all  her  lands,  and  counselling  firmness  in 
contending  for  the  rights  of  the  separate  States. 

The  history  of  this  dispute  and  the  evidence  it  shows  of  the  increasing 
weight  of  national  opinion  and  necessity  are  of  the  utmost  interest  in  that 
contentious,  formative  period.  Virginia's  claim  to  the  Western  lands  had, 
since  the  outbreak  of  war,  been  questioned  by  the  other  States  and  she  had 
only  recently,  as  a  compromise,  offered  to  cede  to  the  United  States  the 
territory  above  the  Ohio.  This  Congress  refused  to  accept,  and  it  was  over 
a  year  after  the  date  of  this  letter  and  after  a  dispute  into  which  much  bit- 
terness was  injected,  that  Virginia  assented  to  the  cession  of  all  of  her  terri- 
tory excepting  her  present  boundaries  and  those  of  West  Virginia  and 
Kentucky.  In  return  Virginia  demanded — and  it  was  accorded — that  her 
soldiers  in  the  Revolution  be  allowed  certain  parts  of  the  ceded  lands. 


86  [MASON  (GEORGE).]  George  Mason,  of  Virginia.  [By  Judge  Bland], 
taken  from  Niles's  "Principles  and  Acts  of  the  Revolution."  Fragment 
consisting  of  pp.  121-128.  8  pp.,  8vo,  all  preserved  under  silk  gauze. 
[Baltimore,  1822.] 


82 


ORIGINAL   UNPUBLISHED    DIARY 
OF  JAMES  McHENRY  IN  THE 

CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION 

MINIATURE  OF  WASHINGTON 

PAINTED  BY  WILLIAM  BIRCH 

CONSIGNED    FOR    SALE    BY 
MR.  JOHN  McHENRY 

OF  BALTIMORE,  MD. 


UNPUBLISHED    MANUSCRIPT   JOURNAL   OF   THE    FED- 
ERAL CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION  BY  JAMES 
McHENRY,  DELEGATE  FROM  MARYLAND 

87  McHENRY  (JAMES,  Secretary  on  the  Staff  of  General  Washington, 
and  second  Secretary  of  War).  Original  Manuscript  Diary  or  Journal 
kept  during  his  attendance  at  the  Federal  Constitutional  Convention, 
from  May  25,  the  opening,  to  September  18,  the  closing,  day.  About 
75  Pa8es>  8vo,  in  contemporary  undressed  calf.  1787. 

James  McHenry,  delegate  from  Maryland,  took  an  active  part  in  the 
formation  of  the  Constitution.  He  labored  hard  and  successfully  in  his 
own  State  to  bring  about  its  ratification,  notwithstanding  the  powerful 
opposition  of  Luther  Martin  and  Samuel  Chase. 

This  Journal  gives  a  remarkably  clear  account  of  the  deliberations  of 
the  Federal  Convention.  McHenry  took  his  seat  on  the  opening  day  of 
the  session  and,  realizing  the  importance  and  historic  value  of  the  forth- 
coming proceedings,  kept  this  record  from  day  to  day.  The  first  entry  is 
dated  Philadelphia,  14  May,  1787.  Nothing  of  importance  took  place, 
however,  until  the  25th  when,  as  stated  in  the  Journal,  "seven  States  being 
represented,  viz. :  New  vork,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Vir- 
ginia, North  Carolina,  and  South  Carolina,  George  Washington  was  unani- 
mously elected  President  of  the  Convention."  A  committee  was  then 
appointed  to  prepare  and  report  rules  for  conducting  business.  This  detail 
being  satisfactorily  arranged,  Governor  Edmund  Randolph  of  Virginia 
opened  the  business  of  the  Convention.  He  proceeded  to  outline  the 
objections  to  the  "Articles  of  Confederation,"  the  inadequacy  of  which  called 
forth  this  meeting.  Randolph's  speech  is  given  in  full,  in  addition  to  the 
resolutions  he  offered  as  a  basis  or  working  plan  for  the  Constitution. 
These  resolutions  were  fifteen  in  number  and  bore  the  distinction  of  being 
the  first  plan  to  be  offered  for  the  closer  and  firmer  welding  of  a  Union 
which  had  been  rapidly  drifting  towards  dissolution.  After  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph's address  and  resolutions,  the  Convention  resolved  itself  into  a 
committee  of  the  whole  "to  take  into  consideration  the  state  of  the  Amer- 
ican Union." 

On  May  3Oth  began  the  true  battle  between  the  partisans  of  State 
rights  and  the  group  which  favored  strong  centralized  power  and  after- 
ward became  known  as  the  "Federalists."  By  this  time  ten  States  were 
represented  in  the  Convention,  and  Randolph's  resolutions  were  taken  up 
in  order.  The  ist,  2nd,  and  3rd  resolutions  were  briefly  discussed  and 
apparently  left  in  abeyance,  their  fate  depending  on  that  of  the  5th,  on 
which  they  indirectly  hinged.  This  resolution,  which  provided  that  the 

85 


second  branch  of  the  legislature  be  elected  by  the  first,  out  of  a  number 
of  persons  nominated  by  State  legislatures,  was  negatived.  Other  details 
are  entered  until  June  ist,  when  a  note  reads:  "Reed,  an  express  from  home 
that  my  brother  lay  dangerously  sick  in  consequence  of  which  I  set  out  imme- 
diately for  Baltimore" 

McHenry  was  back  in  his  seat  on  August  4th,  having  left  Baltimore 
on  the  2nd.  It  might  be  said  that  at  this  time  began  the  real  formative 
period  in  earnest.  The  first  entry  after  his  return,  dated  the  4th,  is  of 
great  interest  and  importance.  It  reveals,  probably  for  the  first  time,  the 
name  of  the  printer  of  the  first  draft  of  the  Constitution,  which  was  known 
to  have  been  printed  in  great  secrecy.  The  entry  reads:  "Returned  to 
Philada.  The  Committee  of  Constitution  ready  to  report.  Their  report  in 
the  hands  of  Dunlap  the  printer  to  strike  off  copies  for  the  members."  The 
final  draft,  which  was  sent  to  Congress  for  ratification,  bears  the  name  of 
the  printers  "Dunlap  and  Claypoole,"  but  the  first  and  second  drafts, 
described  elsewhere  in  this  catalogue,  bore  no  indication  whatever  of  the 
printer. 

On  August  6th  the  Convention  adjourned  till  the  following  day  to  give 
the  members  an  opportunity  to  consider  the  report.  Mr.  McHenry  sug- 
gested a  meeting  with  Messrs.  Carroll,  Jenifer,  Mercer,  and  Martin,  of  the 
Maryland  delegation,  to  confer  on  the  report  and  to  prepare  to  act  in  uni- 
son. This  stormy  conference  took  place  at  Mr.  Carroll's  lodgings  and, 
finding  that  they  could  come  to  no  conclusion,  another  meeting  was  de- 
cided upon  for  the  next  evening.  As  the  author  writes,  "  Unless  we  could 
appear  in  unison  in  the  Convention  with  some  degree  of  unanimity  it  would 
be  unnecessary  to  remain  in  it,  sacrificing  time  &  money  without  being  able 
to  render  any  service."  Here  occurs  an  interesting  note  describing  an  inci- 
dent of  that  meeting.  "7  saw  Mr.  Mercer  make  out  a  list  of  members'  names 
who  had  attended  or  were  attending  in  Convention  with  'for'  and  'against' 
marked  opposite  most  of  them — asked  carelessly  what  question  occasioned  his 
being  so  particular,  upon  which  he  told  me  laughingly  that  it  was  no  question 
but  that  those  marked  with  a  'for'  were  for  a  King.  I  then  asked  him  how  he 
knew  that,  to  which  he  said  'no  matter,  the  thing  is  so,'"  etc. 

In  order  to  fix  the  opinions  of  his  colleagues,  McHenry  drew  up  four  propo- 
sitions on  the  most  consequential  articles,  to  lay  before  them  at  their  meeting 
on  the  following  evening.  The  propositions  are  given  here  in  full.  The  Diary 
then  proceeds  with  the  business  of  the  Convention  on  the  yth.  The  discussion 
then  centered  on  the  right  of  suffrage.  Gouverneur  Morris  held  that  to  give 
that  right  to  all  freemen  the  government  would  undoubtedly  become  an 
aristocracy,  as  it  would  put  it  in  the  power  of  men  whose  business  created 
numerous  dependents.  Dr.  Franklin  also  spoke  on  the  subject:  "He  ob- 

86 


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***-*• 


FIRST   PAGE   OF   McHENRY'S   UNPUBLISHED  DIARY 

[Number  87] 


served  that  in  time  of  war  a  country  owed  much  to  the  lower  class  of  citizens. 
Our  late  war  was  an  instance  of  what  they  could  suffer  and  perform.  If  denied 
the  right  of  suffrage  it  would  debase  their  spirit  and  detach  them  from  the 
interest  of  the  country.  One  thousand  of  our  seamen  were  confined  in  English 
prisons — had  bribes  offered  them  to  go  on  board  English  vessels  which  they 
rejected."  On  the  evening  of  that  day  the  meetings  in  Mr.  Carroll's  lodg- 
ings were  resumed,  Mr.  Martin  being  absent.  After  discussion  of  the 
propositions  offered  by  McHenry  and  of  the  propriety  of  the  articles  of 
Constitution  as  they  respected  Maryland,  they  finally  agreed  to  act  in 
concert  in  the  Convention. 

The  proceedings  of  the  Convention  are  then  resumed.  The  disposition 
of  the  various  articles  follows.  When  the  discussion  becomes  long  and 
opinions  strongly  clash  McHenry  gives  an  outline  of  the  speeches  of  the 
various  advocates.  One  of  the  points  which  came  up  on  August  gth  for 
extended  debate  was  the  term  of  residence  in  the  country  necessary  to 
make  eligible  a  candidate  for  the  Legislature.  Morris,  Mason,  Madison, 
and  Franklin  spoke  at  length  and  with  warmth  on  this  matter.  From  then 
on  matters  progressed  rapidly  although  not  without  debate  of  every  view- 
point and  angle.  By  September  ist  the  system  was  in  shape  to  refer  to  a 
grand  committee.  They  worked  diligently  and  made  some  of  the  most 
inportant  revisions  that  had  thus  far  been  thought  of.  One  of  the  prin- 
cipal of  these  was  the  plan  for  the  election  of  the  President,  which  is  that 
of  today.  On  September  8th  the  whole  report  was  agreed  to,  and  with 
some  amendments  was  referred  to  the  Committee  of  Detail.  On  Septem- 
ber 1 3th  the  second  printed  report  was  received.  This  was  read,  discussed, 
and  a  few  further  changes  made,  and  on  the  I5th,  was  ordered  engrossed 
and  500  copies  struck.  On  the  lyth  the  final  Constitution  was  delivered 
and  the  delegates  proceeded  to  sign  it,  Mr.  Randolph,  Mr.  Mason,  and 
Mr.  Gerry  being  the  only  members  present  who  withheld  their  names. 

On  the  page  directly  preceding  this  entry  the  author  gives  his  reasons 
for  signing  the  Constitution.  Although  opposed  to  many  parts  of  the 
system,  he  recognized  in  it  the  only  remedy  at  hand  for  the  inconveniences 
which  the  Union  was  then  laboring  under.  He  also  frankly  admits  that 
his  own  judgment  might  be  at  fault  in  too  strongly  opposing  the  points 
with  which  he  disagreed.  This  statement  is  signed  and  dated,  Phila.  iyth 
Sept.,  1787,  the  final  day  of  the  Convention.  On  this  day  Dr.  Franklin 
also  made  an  address  in  which  he  gave  his  reasons  for  signing,  as  described 
here,  "It  was  plain,  insinuating,  persuasive — and  in  any  event  of  the  sys- 
tem, guarded  the  Doctor's  fame." 

The  next  day  the  gentlemen  of  the  Convention  dined  together  at  the 
City  Tavern. 


On  these  final  pages  are  given  two  interesting  anecdotes  apropos  of  the 
Convention  and  the  result  of  their  labors.  "A  lady  asked  Dr.  Franklin, 
'Well,  Doctor,  what  have  we  got,  a  republic  or  a  monarchy?'  'A  republic,' 
replied  the  Doctor,  'if  you  can  keep  it';"  and  "Mr.  Martin  said  one  day  in 
company  with  Mr.  Jenifer,  speaking  of  the  system  before  Convention,  '  I'll  be 
hanged  if  ever  the  people  of  Maryland  agree  to  it.'  *  I  advise  you,'  said  Mr. 
Jenifer,  'to  stay  in  Philadelphia  lest  you  should  be  hanged." 

The  Journal  is  of  the  greatest  importance  and  interest.  It  embraces 
practically  all  events  of  importance  that  took  place  in  the  Convention. 
When  it  is  remembered  the  secrecy  with  which  these  proceedings  were 
surrounded,  a  work  of  this  kind  is  of  the  highest  historical  value,  reveal- 
ing as  it  does  the  personal  views,  opinions,  and  even  ambitions  of  many 
of  the  individuals. 


89 


MINIATURE  PORTRAIT  OF  WASHINGTON 
BY  WILLIAM  BIRCH 

WASHINGTON  (GEORGE).  Original  Miniature  Portrait  of  Washing- 
ton, oval,  three-quarter  face,  half  length,  painted  on  enamel,  by  William 
Birch  (contemporary  crack  across  lower  part  of  neck.)  Height,  3>^; 
width,  3  inches.  In  gilt  frame,  with  small  oval  ebony  frame  set  in  crim- 
son plush. 

This  very  beautiful  miniature  presents  Washington  in  a  costume  of 
dark  brown  velvet,  with  ruffles  of  white  lace.  The  complexion  is  warm  and 
rich,  but  without  the  florid  tint  so  often  noted  in  contemporary  portraits. 
The  hair  is  powdered  and  worn  in  a  queue. 

Elizabeth  Bryant  Johnson  in  her  "Original  Portraits  of  Washington," 
writes:  "It  is  said  in  outline  to  be  drawn  precisely  like  the  first  Stuart,  though 
the  unpleasant  impression,  arising  from  the  false  teeth,  is  happily  avoided." 

The  portrait  is  consigned  by  Mr.  John  McHenry  of  Baltimore,  to  whose 
family  it  has  belonged  since  its  purchase  by  James  McHenry,  from  the 
artist.  Miss  Johnson,  in  the  above-named  volume,  says:  "James  McHenry 
of  Maryland,  who  was  Washington's  Military  Secretary,  was  appointed  by 
him  Secretary  of  War  in  1796.  About  that  time  be  bought  a  certain  minia- 
ture of  Washington,  by  Birch,  selecting  it  from  several  in  the  artist's  studio, 
and  esteeming  it  the  finest  likeness,  notwithstanding  it  was  somewhat  disfig- 
ured by  a  crack  in  the  enamel."  According  to  the  same  authority,  a  fac- 
simile of  this  miniature  was  owned  by  Charles  C.  Barney  of  Richmond. 
Its  owner  esteemed  it  so  highly  that  when  he  had  to  run  the  gauntlet  after 
the  evacuation  of  Richmond,  he  took  it  from  its  frame,  secured  it  on  his 
person,  and  so  was  able  to  save  it  from  possible  mishap. 


90 


MINIATURE   OF   GENERAL   WASHINGTON 
PAINTED   BY   WILLIAM    BIRCH 

[Number  88] 


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